The Power Within
by ILuvRonniekins
Summary: Ginny Weasley is faced with unbelievable hardship as her fifth school year draws near. Forced to leave her home behind she receives a strange gift that has the power to bring two lives together in unexpected ways. Please RR!
1. Prologue: Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

The Power Within  
  
Summary: Ginny Weasley is faced with unbelievable hardship as her fifth school year draws near. Forced to leave her home behind she receives a strange gift that has the power to bring two lives together in unexpected ways as she takes a journey through grief, pain, and ultimately love. Love due to The Power Within. R/R  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, only the plot, to which I am not even worthy of. I thank JK Rowling for writing the books and creating such detailed and wonderful characters, I couldn't even begin to do them justice.  
  
A/N: This is the beginning of what is hopefully going to be a long journey. This plot actually came to me as a dream and I knew I had to write it. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I am going to enjoy writing it. I only have one request: If you are a very accomplished writer, you will most likely realize that my writing is far from perfect. So if you happen to be one of these accomplished writers and you like my story, could you please consider being my Beta? I think I am going to need one for a story of this magnitude! If you are interested please, please, please email me: IluvRonniekins@hotmail.com or Im me on AOL at IluvRonnie04. Ok now on with the story. Enjoy and please review!  
  
Prologue: Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow  
  
Ginny Weasley watched on sadly as the summer sun sank down behind the trees. She turned and took one last look at her empty room before making her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. There she found Ron fiddling idly with a loose wood chip on the floor along with Fred and George who had come to help empty out the last pieces of furniture.  
  
She glanced around the old room, it seemed so big and empty now, not homey and cluttered like it had been earlier. Her mind flicked over visions of her childhood there, and she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She was really going to miss this place with its creaky floorboards and the smell of breakfast wafting through the air and under her door on hot summer mornings, she'd even miss that annoying banging coming from the attic. No place could ever be the same; she could never call anywhere else home like she had the Burrow. A solitary tear rolled down her cheek and she found a sob rising within her throat. It wasn't fair! It wasn't fair that all the good people in the world were being cut down. It wasn't like her father had done anything wrong, but the Ministry was so corrupted that they didn't know good from evil anymore. It was bad enough that her father had lost his job, but the little money they had had before, turned into none and they found themselves in a horrible situation.  
  
A silent prayer rose within her heart that this would not have to be the last time she stood in this kitchen. There was still hope of getting the house back; it wasn't being sold, just held in ministry hands until her father paid off all his debts. Until then she would just have to be content with Remus' kindness. Her father had told her earlier that week that the Order would always do whatever they could to help its members, and that statement had held true. Shortly after finding out about their predicament, Remus had written them a letter offering Number 12 as a temporary residence for the family. He was currently living there in the wake of Sirius' death, making sure nothing happened to it until Harry's 17th birthday, at which time he would become eligible for Sirius' inheritance.  
  
Darkness began creeping into the small room, erasing the shadows from the floor and covering it in an eerie gray, speckled by the silver of the half- moon shining through the window. Mr. Weasley came slowly through the back door and sighed as he looked helplessly around the empty room. Ginny looked from her father's face to all the others around her and found herself fighting against tears. She rose to her feet and went to her father, hugging him hard around the middle just like she had when she was a little girl. She felt little again, so helpless and vulnerable. Her father hugged her back, trying to offer comfort to his only daughter as she sobbed into his chest.  
  
"It's all right Ginny, everything will turn out fine... you'll see," He said solemnly as he stroked her hair.  
  
But those words weren't as comforting a Ginny would have liked them to be. All she wanted was for someone to shake her awake from the horrible nightmare that she was trapped in. She shut her eyes tightly, but even that couldn't erase reality from her mind. It was really happening, she was moving out of her home. It wasn't just a house to her, it held her childhood, her secrets, her hopes and dreams, These walls heard everything, and it hurt her to know that she was leaving something much more than a place to lay her head.  
  
She reluctantly let go of her father and looked sadly up at him.  
  
"It's time to go," he said sadly before opening the door to usher them all out.  
  
Fred and George were the first to leave, casting miserable glances over their shoulders on their way out. Ron still stood in the corner with his head bowed, looking almost like a statue. Ginny looked at her father, silently telling him that the two on them would be out shortly, they needed a few seconds to say a final goodbye. When the door closed behind him Ginny walked slowly over to Ron. She crouched down and cautiously looked up into his face. What she saw scared her, she saw tiny tears threatening to spill from the sixteen year olds eyes. Ginny had never seen Ron cry, not since he had been a little boy and had fallen off his broom when he was learning to ride. She laid a careful hand on his shoulder and he slowly raised his eyes to hers.  
  
"It's not fair," he whispered, expressing the thought that had been running through Ginny's mind all day.  
  
"No, Ron, it isn't," she choked, "I can't believe we are being forced to leave all this behind."  
  
"For Heaven's sake, Ron!" she cried, "Everything we've ever done, every word we've ever spoken... our whole lives are here! How are we supposed to replace that? This is where I feel safe this is where I long to come during those horrible Potions lessons, this is home Ron, I can't bear to leave it... I just can't!" She sobbed.  
  
Ron, who seemed to be putting on that brave Gryffindor spirit, hugged her tight.  
  
"Me either Gin, but it will be okay! We have people on our side and they are going to help us, we'll live here again, I swear we will. We'll get our lives back Gin, we'll get them back sooner or later," he whispered soothingly.  
  
Ginny hoped above all that he was right. That they would get back everything that had been taken from them. She pulled back from Ron and grabbed his hand.  
  
"I guess it's time to say goodbye," she said.  
  
Ron nodded. They both took one more look around their home and then walked trough the screen door and out into the dark summer heat. Leaving the empty frame of the Burrow behind them. 


	2. Chapter 1: Mysterious Feeling

The Power Within  
  
Author's Note: Okay, Chapter 1 is here. Please review! I am still looking for that wonderful Beta! Please email me! On with the show! Hope you enjoy this chapter. R/R!  
  
Chapter 1: A Mysterious Feeling  
  
"Hey Gin," Ron called from downstairs, startling Ginny and causing her to spill ink all over her Potions essay. She picked up her things and stormed down the stairs, nearly running into Ron who had started to come up them.  
  
"What is it now Ron?" she inquired, while holding up the soiled parchment for him to see.  
  
"Look what you've done! This is Snape's essay and I only had half a foot left you moron!" she screamed.  
  
"Ginny, there is absolutely no way I did that from all the way downstairs and you know it!" he retorted.  
  
"Maybe you didn't do it physically, but that horrible noise that seems to emanate from you throat did the job. Great Merlin, you're loud enough to wake the dead sometimes! What did you want anyway?" she asked.  
  
"I was wondering if you would fancy losing a game of chess to me, I've already beat Hermione six times and I am itching for a change in tactics; she plays the exact same way every time, did you know that?" he babbled.  
  
"No Ron, I didn't know that bit of useless information. Now, If you'll excuse me, I have to see if anyone in this household can undo this mess." she snapped while pushing past him.  
  
"Sorry I asked! I don't know what is under you're skin lately but..." Ron made a sound like and upset cat that sent Ginny fuming. She stomped down every last stair and arrived in the parlor.  
  
"What was all that about?" asked Hermione, peering over the top of her book.  
  
"Ron startled me and I spilled ink all over my potions essay," Ginny replied, seeming to have calmed a little. She laid her wet parchment on an empty table and threw herself on the couch, her chest heaving with a huge sigh.  
  
"Are you alright?" inquired Hermione, "You seem to be down a lot lately, and Ron keeps reminding himself to avoid you in fear of losing his head."  
  
"I'm trying to be fine Hermione, I really am, but it's difficult to be here knowing that this is the only place we have," she explained.  
  
"I know how you feel, I didn't like being dragged from my house and told I couldn't go back. But I try not to think about it, I just take it day by day, hour by hour, you know," Hermione sighed.  
  
Ginny's mind wandered back to the events of the week that followed their arrival at Number 12. The Daily Prophet had arrived announcing the first of many deaths. They had all been connected in one simple way; all the victims had been muggle-borns. All the deaths had been older ministry workers, but the Order had met and decided it best to organize a secret committee devoted to a muggle-born protection program. Muggle-Borns all over Europe were being "R&R'd" (rescued and relocated), as the Order liked to call it. Hermione had been the first of many missions. Mr. Weasley and Remus had rushed to her house early one morning to collect her. They had informed her parents of the danger to their daughter and brought her here. She was taking it well, Ginny thought, better than Ginny herself. But, then again, she had only been forced to take up temporary residence here; she hadn't lost her home to the government monsters.  
  
Ginny sighed again and began to tug at a loose string on the arm of the sofa. Hermione had taken to reading her book again and Ron had come back down to pack up his chess pieces.  
  
'Why doesn't he show it?' Ginny thought.  
  
Not once since they arrived had Ginny seen the tears that she had seen when they left the Burrow. Not once had he shown any sign of desperation. All he had done was sit and laugh with Remus, talk to Hermione and write to Harry. Was that who he was being strong for? Harry? Did he not want his best friend to hear his pain? It was true, Harry had a lot to deal with, and it was understandable that Ron wouldn't want to add to that burden, but Harry wasn't here with them right now, and yet Ron still showed nothing. Did Harry even know? She didn't think that Ron would conveniently forget to leave out that bit, but it did seem strange that Harry hadn't even tried to give them any money. Normally, Harry was always trying to get the Weasley's to accept his donations, but they never did. And now when they needed it most he didn't come through. Or had he? Had he offered generously and been turned down again? Ginny shook this from her mind and stood up to find someone who could fix the ink stain on her essay.  
  
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
Ginny wandered down the upstairs hall looking for her mother. She heard a noise coming from inside the library and peeked her head inside. Spotting Remus she slipped inside and sat in the chair by the fireplace. After several moments she cleared her throat to get Remus' attention. His shoulders hopped a little and then her turned around and fixed his gaze on Ginny.  
  
"Oh, hello Ginny, you scared me a little bit there," he said.  
  
"I'm sorry," she apologized, "Professor Lupin, I..."  
  
"Ginny," he interrupted, "How many times must I tell you to call me Remus, we are not in the classroom and I am no longer your teacher," He smiled at her.  
  
"Okay, Remus, I was wondering if you could fix this," she said, holding out the parchment for him to examine.  
  
He took it in his hands, flipped it over, then took his wand and muttered something. Ginny watched on as the ink stain cleared, leaving her essay seemingly untouched.  
  
"There you go, easy," he said as he handed the parchment back to her.  
  
"Thanks!" she said, "I really wish I could just tap my wand and make things better by myself during the holidays."  
  
"You'll be there soon enough," came his muffled reply. Ginny looked up from her parchment and stifled a laugh when she saw Remus. He was digging in a large box and was buried headfirst up to his waist.  
  
"What's in there?" she asked.  
  
Remus emerged and looked sadly at her.  
  
"Some of Sirius' things, he didn't have a will so I am trying to divide things up the way I think he might have."  
  
"Oh," she whispered.  
  
She hugged her arms close to her body and shivered. She couldn't bear to think about that night. She never would have thought that Sirius would die. He had been so strong and fast with his wand; she couldn't imagine him not being able to block a curse. But that's what had happened. She had tried to wish it out of her mind, but every time her ankle twinged she thought about it. The night that had brought them all together, she doubted that she would ever be apart from the five people that had been with her that night, no matter what Ron would like to say about it.  
  
"Have you talked to Harry lately?" Remus asked.  
  
"Me? No, I don't really write Harry much, if ever. I've wanted to but I thought it best just to leave him to himself, plus I don't know what I'd say," she replied.  
  
Remus nodded and went back to digging in the box.  
  
Ginny just sat in silence for a minute before asking the question that had been on her mind all summer.  
  
"Have you talked to him? How's he handling it?" she asked quickly.  
  
Remus forfeited his digging once again and looked down at her.  
  
"I have talked to him, and he says he's fine, but I know he's lying. He tells me about how Ron and Hermione write to him; by the way he talks I think they are avoiding it. That's not what he needs though; he needs someone to talk to, someone who can understand what has happened, and someone that will listen. Right now he's holding everything inside, trying to please everyone by bottling up his trouble," Remus explained.  
  
Ginny felt tears fighting toward the surface, she had been like that once, and she still was. She had never had anyone to talk to about her experience. All she had done was bottle everything up and tell people she was fine and that she didn't want to talk about it. But it had been a lie; she had desperately wanted somebody, anybody to talk to.  
  
"I think you need to talk to him, Ginny," Remus said, interrupting Ginny's thoughts, "Just write to him and ask how he's handling everything, let him know that you're there for him if he ever wants to talk about it."  
  
Ginny nodded. Remus took a long look at her and then went back to his work.  
  
When he came back up Ginny saw a leather cord that he had clutched in his hand.  
  
"Do you want this Ginny?" He asked, holding out the cord which Ginny could now see was attached to a gold medallion with and engraving of a sword on it. "James gave it to Sirius a little while after Harry was born, Sirius wore it all the time as far as I can recall."  
  
"Shouldn't you give it to Harry?" Ginny asked slowly.  
  
"No, I think you should have it. You can decide what to do with it, but I think that Sirius would have wanted you to have something. Besides, Harry gets this," He said while gesturing to the building that surrounded him.  
  
"Okay, I guess I could take it, for Sirius," she said. Ginny reached out and took the medallion out of Remus' outstretched palm, and slipped it over her head. When she did she felt a strange sensation within her chest, almost as if there were two hearts beating within one.  
  
'Strange,' she thought, 'definitely strange."  
  
"What does it do?" She asked curiously.  
  
"I don't know, neither James or Sirius would ever tell me. They always insisted it was just jewelry, but I think it is more than that, much more than that," he related.  
  
Ginny sat alone with her thoughts for a while before Remus lifted the box and left the room.  
  
She slipped the medallion around her neck and gazed down at the engraved gold. It shone so brilliantly, and gave her a strange feeling. Whatever it was, she knew there was a powerful magic contained in its core just waiting to be discovered.  
  
Author's Note: Okay, How was chapter 1? Please Review; it keeps me going and if any of you guys want to take me up on the Beta suggestion do not hesitate to email me! iluvronniekins@hotmail.com. 


	3. Chapter 2: The Full Moon

Chapter 2: The Full Moon

A/N: Okay, here is chapter 2! Hopre you guys enjoy it, and as always I am up for comments and suggestions, I always have free space in my stories to add some of your ideas to it! PLEASE review ! :)

here we go......

The blank parchment stared defiantly up at Ginny, silently daring her to write on its snowy surface. She slowly lowered her quill, but quickly pulled away from the paper once again. How should she begin? She couldn't very well just jump right into it; she knew that she would not like to receive a letter that began with, "I'm really sorry about your godfather, hope everything is alright." No, she wouldn't like to receive a letter like that, and she doubted Harry would either. She sucked the end of her quill thoughtfully, sorting through her options. After a while the thoughtful look melted from her face and she stared pointedly at the parchment as she lowered her quill and began to write.  
  
Half an hour later, Ginny held the finished product out in front of her. It was not the shortest letter, but not the longest, and it approached the subject of Sirius' death rather delicately, but not as delicate as to avoid the subject like Ron and Hermione had been doing. Overall, Ginny thought it was the perfect letter for Harry. She folded up the parchment and raised two freckled fingers to her lips, letting out a shrill whistle. A few seconds later, Pig came clambering into the room, bouncing off the walls and ceiling in excitement of his being called to carry a letter. Ginny gently tied her letter to the shaking birds outstretched limb, picked him up in her hands and carried him to the window.  
  
"I want you to take this to Harry, Pig, and please do not terrorize Hedwig while you're there," she instructed, before opening the window to let the tiny owl fly out.  
  
She watched as Pig flew into the distance, soon becoming indistinguishable from the setting sun. She was just slipping into a daydream, when she felt a pang of worry rising within her. She couldn't explain the feeling exactly, but as she watched the sun set, she felt like she would give anything to keep the golden orb from dropping below the trees, bringing with it the dark blanket of night. Her heart pounded, threatening to burst from her chest. Where was this feeling coming from? She glanced over her left shoulder, only to see her shaken reflection staring back at her in the vanity mirror. Raising a freckled hand, she wiped a few beads of sweat from her forehead, but abruptly lowered it when something about her reflection caught her eye. It was the medallion Remus had given her, glowing just like the sun outside. She quickly lifted it from around her neck, and as soon as she did, the confined, helpless feeling immediately left her body. Her eyes widened as she stared at the gold's carved surface, she let out a small shriek and threw the medallion onto her bed, and ran as fast as she could from the room.  
  
"Ow!" Hermione cried, as she clutched her forehead, trying to make out the blur of red that swam before her eyes. "Are you okay Ginny?" she asked, but received no answer. "Yeah, er, dinners ready," she added before getting up and walking into the kitchen.  
  
Ginny followed, her eyes still wide from the shock of what had happened with the medallion.  
  
"Ginny, dear, are you all right?" her mother asked, noticing Ginny's startled expression.  
  
"What? Oh...yes, Mum, I'm fine," Ginny replied.  
  
She leaned her head heavily on her hand throughout dinner, as she swirled her meal around the plate with her fork. So many thoughts were running through her mind, all of them relating to the medallion. She had just come to the decision to throw the medallion out the window, when Ron shook her from her reverie.  
  
"I hope Remus is all right," he said worriedly.  
  
Ginny's head snapped up, and she stared at Ron intently.  
  
"Why would there be anything wrong with Remus?" she asked.  
  
"Have you looked outside, Gin?" Ron stated sarcastically. "It is the full moon tonight!"  
  
"You mean..."Ginny started, pausing to look at the worried faces around her. "You mean... there is a werewolf... in this house?"  
  
Her mother nodded.  
  
"And where, may I ask, is he being kept?" she inquired frantically.  
  
"In the attic, dear. It's really perfectly safe; Professor Snape has been bringing Remus his potions every morning for the past week, and your father has fixed the attic so that he cannot get out and harm anyone," Molly reassured Ginny.  
  
Ginny, thoroughly calmed now, watched in amusement as Ron's Adam's apple bobbed in his throat.  
  
"Are you sure, Mum?" he asked unsteadily. "Are you sure there is no chance that he could get out and rip all of our bloody heads off?"  
  
Hermione, who had been quiet the whole conversation, swatted Ron in the arm.  
  
"Ron! Don't curse in front of your mother, how many times must I tell you!" she whispered.  
  
"Oh, so you're not worried then! Not worried a single bit that there is a bloody ravenous werewolf camped out in the attic? It would be like you wouldn't it! "Ron retorted. "I'm Hermione Granger, the smartest witch in the world! If a werewolf were to try and attack me, I could take him!" he said, taking on a high-pitched voice that, oddly enough, sounded not much different than Hermione's own.  
  
"But, Ron, your mother said herself that it was perfectly safe," Hermione argued.  
  
"But she doesn't know for sure does she? What about the point nine percent chance that all the spells breakdown and Snape's potion doesn't work."  
  
Hermione glared at him.  
  
"Then there are locks on the door! Calm down, Ron, everything will be all right. I wish you wouldn't be so rude to Hermione, dear, she is our guest... there is no reason to yell at her like that," Molly scolded.  
  
Ron stayed silent, but sat with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at Hermione.  
  
"Well, er, I guess I will just be off to bed then," Ginny said. "I'm exhausted! Goodnight everyone!"  
  
'What was all that about? Can Ron go five minutes without yelling at Hermione?" she thought to herself as she climbed the stairs.  
  
Ginny sat in her room, contemplating the day's events, particularly the event with the medallion. She had replayed the incident in her head a thousand times in the past hour, but could not seem to put her finger on what exactly had happened. What did the medallion have to do with the strange feelings?  
  
'Everything!' she thought. 'The medallion had everything to do with those feelings. They disappeared as soon as I took it off."  
  
She had a sudden thought, maybe the medallion made you appreciate beautiful things. After all, the sun was beautiful, wasn't it? And thinking about it setting would make someone sad, right?  
  
But as she rolled this thought over in her mind, another came, one much more explainable than the previous.  
  
'That's it!' she thought 'It all makes sense! That has to be what it does!'  
  
She looked down at the golden circle that lay in her hands and smiled.  
  
Suddenly, there was a creak in the wooden hallway. Ginny jumped up from the bed and made her way to the door, pushing it open slightly, she peeked her head out. Hermione was making her way down the hall to her room.  
  
"Psst," Ginny whispered. Hermione stopped walking.  
  
"Psst, Hermione, come in here," she whispered, sticking her hand out of the crack and motioning wildly to herself.  
  
'Yes, if anyone can tell me if I'm right it's Hermione,' Ginny thought happily.  
  
"What is it?" Hermione asked, as she sidled into the room, gently shutting the door behind her.  
  
"This," Ginny said, holding up the medallion so that Hermione could see. "Have you ever seen one of these before?" she asked hopefully.  
  
Hermione reached out and fingered the gold's engraved surface.  
  
"No. I mean I've seen necklaces before, but not one exactly like this," she replied. "Where did you get it?"  
  
"Remus gave it to me, he said it belonged to Sirius, and that he would have wanted me to have it, so I took it."  
  
Hermione nodded.  
  
"Seems logical doesn't it? Remus will probably give us all something of Sirius'," she reasoned.  
  
"But, it isn't just a necklace, Hermione. That's why I called you in here," Ginny began. "You see, I've worn it ever since Remus gave it to me. When I first put it on; I felt somewhat strange, but it passed. Today though, I was looking out the window and I suddenly felt like I didn't want the sun to go down... like I was dreading it. Then, I couldn't breathe right, and I started to sweat so I took the medallion off, and it all stopped. That's when I came downstairs. Oh, by the way sorry about running into you, I was just a little frightened."  
  
"That's strange," Hermione whispered to herself as she began to pace the tiny room.  
  
"There's more, when Remus gave it to me, he told me that James had given it to Sirius after Harry was born, and that Sirius had never taken it off. So I was thinking that maybe..." Ginny began, but was interrupted by Hermione.  
  
"Why would Remus give that to you? Surely he would have thought that Harry would have wanted it?" she asked.  
  
"I asked that as well, but Remus said that he felt sure that Sirius would have wanted me to have it. Plus, Harry gets the house," Ginny responded.  
  
"Oh," Hermione said, nodding. "Go on."  
  
"So I was thinking that maybe, Sirius and James used this as a way to help Remus during his transformations. Like some of his pain is transferred to the person wearing this," Ginny said, holding up the medallion.  
  
"That doesn't make sense, Ginny. Why would James give Sirius something that would help him feel Remus' pain? Besides, you aren't in pain right now, wouldn't you be if that were its purpose?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Didn't you hear at dinner? Snape has been bringing Remus his potion, so if the potion is working, then I shouldn't be able to feel anything. And, how do we know that James didn't have one too?"  
  
"True, it would make sense for both of them to have one," Hermione added.  
  
"Maybe they used this as a tool to help Remus in times when they couldn't be around him in their animagi form during his transformation. You know, with You-Know-Who on the rise, they wouldn't have been able to see each other as much, especially since You-Know-Who was after the Potter's for some reason," Ginny said.  
  
"I'm guessing Remus doesn't know what it is, or he wouldn't have given it to you."  
  
"As far as I can tell, they wouldn't have wanted him to know what it was. He told me that they always insisted it was just jewelry," Ginny stated.  
  
"Well, it sounds like you might have figured it out. I will do some research on medallions to see if there has been anything like this before," Hermione offered.  
  
"Thanks," Ginny replied gratefully. "So, on to more pressing matters. What was up with Ron at dinner?" she asked as she nudged Hermione in the shoulder.  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes and blew a loose piece of hair away from her face.  
  
"What's ever up with him? He takes one thing I say and turns it into something completely different. I am starting to believe he actually enjoys yelling at me! I mean, I have put up with his cursing around me; I have even stopped reprimanding him about it. But when he does it in front of your mother, knowing she doesn't like it; I just want to... I just want to..." Hermione clenched her fist and sighed loudly.  
  
"You just want to what, Hermione?" Ron's voice echoed from the doorway.  
  
Ginny watched as Hermione's shoulders stiffened.  
  
"Ronald Bilius Weasley, just what do you think you are doing?" she growled through clenched teeth. She turned slowly around until she faced him, fury written all over her face.  
  
"Just what do you think you are doing, Hermione," he sputtered.  
  
"How long have you been standing there, eavesdropping, Ronald?"  
  
"Long enough."  
  
Hermione stood up and walked over to the doorway in which Ron stood. She was a great deal shorter than him, but her anger towered far above his ginger head.  
  
"I can not believe you have the nerve to come in here and just stand there, making absolutely no noise to alert us of your presence, listening to us talk! The door was shut, shouldn't that alert you that the people in the room might be having a conversation that they didn't want you to hear! Sometimes you just make me so mad, Ron! What were you thinking, I can't beli..." Hermione screamed, but was abruptly interrupted by a fuming Ron.  
  
"YOU JUST WANT TO WHAT, HERMIONE?"  
  
Hermione looked slightly taken aback and slightly confused as to what Ron had asked.  
  
"What are you talking about?" she asked.  
  
"The point of this whole argument! You just want to what, Hermione? And bloody hell, you better answer me this time!" he shouted, all the while glaring down his nose at her.  
  
"SOMETIMES I JUST WANT TO HIT YOU UPSIDE YOUR BIG HEAD, BECAUSE YOU CAN BE SO BLOODY DENSE!" she bellowed.  
  
Ron looked shocked for a moment, but recovered quickly and the look of surprise was replaced with a smirk.  
  
"Hermione, how many times must I tell you? Don't curse!"  
  
Hermione, beet red and fuming, raised her hand and whacked Ron in the side of the head, just like she had wanted to, before she turned on her heel and left the room, making sure to give the door a good slam on her way out.  
  
Ron looked at the door and then at Ginny, before shrugging his shoulders.  
  
"Obviously," he started, "Remus isn't the only one experiencing "that time of the month"," he said, making quotation marks with his fingers.  
  
Ginny struggled to contain her laughter. They were so obvious it was funny, and they were completely oblivious to it as well.  
  
"Ron, you better hope she didn't hear that," Ginny said, rising from her spot on the bed. "Now get out of here, and be careful walking down the hall, Hermione may still be out there." She warned before pushing him from the room and closing the door behind him. As soon as his footsteps trailed off, she leaned against the door and sighed.  
  
"How much longer am I going to have to put up with this!" she quietly said to herself, before climbing in the bed and turning off the lights.  
  
The sun streamed through the window and onto Ginny's face. She had been awake for half an hour already, but hadn't actually gotten out of bed. She was just lying there enjoying the feel of the sun on her skin, and the way the blanket fluffed around her; she was comfortable and didn't want to move.  
  
"GINNY! BREAKFAST!" echoed a voice from downstairs.  
  
She rolled over and buried her face in her pillow.  
  
"GINNY! GET DRESSED AND COME DOWN HERE NOW!" the voice called.  
  
Ginny stuck her head under her pillow and held it tightly on both sides.  
  
"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY! YOU HAVE UNTIL THE COUNT OF THREE TO GET YOURSELF DOWN HERE. ONE...."  
  
Ginny threw the pillow across the room and jumped out of bed. Her mother was counting, that was never a good thing.  
  
"TWO!"  
  
She picked up her bathrobe and snaked one freckly arm through it while grasping the door handle with the other. She tore out of the room and down the stairs, tying her robe as she ran.  
  
"THRE..."  
  
"Morning, Mum!" Ginny said brightly, bouncing down the last step and grabbing a biscuit off of the tray her mother was holding.  
  
"Finally!" Ron groaned. "I thought you'd never come down, Mum wouldn't let us eat without you."  
  
"Yes, one second later and we would have had a funeral to attend, eh?" she stated as she watched Ron pile eggs onto his plate.  
  
"Shut up!" he growled.  
  
Breakfast couldn't exactly be called uneventful that morning. There were the amusing antics between Ron and Hermione, who were not talking to each other, yet had chosen to take their normal mealtime seats.  
  
"Ginny, can you please tell Miss Quill Up The Butt to pass me the orange juice?" Ron asked.  
  
"Hermione can you...."  
  
"I heard him! Can you please tell Mr. Big Ugly Git to get it himself?"  
  
"Ron, get it...."  
  
"I heard her!"  
  
"Ron here's the orange juice." Ginny said as she sat the jug in front of him. "And don't bother talking through me anymore, I would rather not deal with five year olds today!"  
  
Ron mumbled something incoherent, but was interrupted from a loud tapping at the window.  
  
"Would someone please open that window and let Pig in," Mr. Weasley requested, looking at the window over the top of the newspaper.  
  
Ron went over to the window and opened it. Pig flew straight to Ginny, holding out his leg. She untied the letter, which sent pig off balance, causing him to crash into Ron's glass of orange juice.  
  
"Bloody bird!" Ron yelped as orange juice spilt all over his leg, and earning a hard glare from Hermione.  
  
Ginny looked down at the letter, her name was printed on the front in semi- untidy handwriting, handwriting she had seen before on plenty of Ron's letters. She knew who it was from and she hastily stuffed it into her robe pocket, before picking up her fork and continuing on with her meal.  
  
Ron, who had composed himself, glared at her.  
  
"Is it from Dean?" he asked.  
  
"No."  
  
"Some other boyfriend I don't know about?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Then whose it from?" he whined.  
  
"None of your business, Ron!"  
  
"Yes it is! It's probably from some prat who is infatuated with you, as a big brother that is my business!"  
  
"Ron, leave her alone, she doesn't have to tell you everything that goes on in her life," Hermione interjected.  
  
Ron, who had obviously decided not to speak to Hermione, glared at her.  
  
"Ugh!" Ginny groaned, leaning her forehead heavily on her head.  
  
"Good morning all!" came a voice from the doorway.  
  
All the occupants of the kitchen turned to see Remus. Ginny's hand flew instinctively up to her neck, clasping the medallion. She had felt a slight twinge in the middle of the night, but other than that everything had been fine, and when she had woken up this morning, she felt like a load had been taken off of her heart. She looked up to find Hermione staring at her hand, obviously debating in her mind whether or not to bring up the discussion they had the night before. Hermione was certainly a smart witch, but her biggest flaw was her tendency to meddle in things that were not hers to meddle in. Ginny raised a finger to her lips, silently telling Hermione to be quiet.  
  
"Ah, Remus, are you feeling all right?" Arthur asked.  
  
"Fine, fine! No need to worry." Remus replied.  
  
"How did the potion work?" asked Molly, as she piled food on his plate.  
  
"It went off without a hitch, that's enough, Molly, thank you."  
  
Ginny smiled at Remus, and reached into her pocket pulling out the letter and holding it under the table so that he could see, but was out or Ron's sight. He glanced down at it and smiled, and clapped Ginny on the back.  
  
Ginny returned the letter to its place, stood and cleared her plate from the table.  
  
"Thanks for breakfast Mum! It was wonderful," she said, giving her mother a quick peck on the cheek before she ran up the stairs.  
  
Ginny arrived in her room and closed the door, sitting against it so that no one could walk in. She hastily tore the seal on the letter and stared down and the words scrawled across the parchment.  
  
Dear Ginny,  
  
I was surprised to hear from you! It was good to receive a letter from someone other than Ron and Hermione. No, the Dursley's haven't locked me in my room; they've mostly just left me alone, except for when they want me to take out the trash and what not. I can't exactly say I'm fine, but I am dealing with this the best I know how. I don't know how to put what I'm feeling into words, the best word I can think of is "lost". There's so much more to this than you know, or that I could even explain. I'm just glad that I have someone to talk to now. I really appreciate it, Ginny.  
  
Harry  
  
The letter fell from Ginny's fingers, gliding to rest on the ground. Tiny tears rolled down her cheeks. She felt for Harry, he wasn't very open in the letter, but what he had said tore at her heart. He felt lost. She knew what that feeling was like, thinking you had no one to understand you, and feeling helpless and useless. The best word to describe it was just that, lost.  
  
She stood and put the letter in her desk drawer. Leaning against the windowsill, she thought about the past, trying to sort out how she had come out of her depression, trying to find the words she could say to Harry. As she stared out at the trees, she decided she would tell Harry everything about her past, no matter how painful it would be, she would help him get through this.

A/N: Like it? Tell me! Review please!


	4. Chapter 3: Emotions Run High

Chapter 3: Emotions Run High  
  
Ginny Weasley looked on as Pig flew off into the sky. She had just finished yet another letter to Harry. Thinking back on her decision to share her past with him, she decided it best to wait until she was alone with him in person to do so. It would be a sensitive subject for both of them, so communicating it through a letter didn't seem right. Instead, her letters included small matters dealing with life at Grimmauld Place and Ron and Hermione's steadfast decision not to speak to one another. However, her letters always included the same bit stating that he could always talk to her about anything. Harry's letters were similarly as boring, filled with descriptions of what the Dursley's had him doing, and how slow his days were.  
  
Things had been deadly quiet at Grimmauld Place for the past week. Mrs. Black's portrait had been missing when the Weasleys had arrived. Remus said that after Sirius' death he had come back, only to find that the portrait had fallen off the wall and was lying face down on the hallway floor. He had burned it, just as he knew Sirius would have had he ever been able to pry it off the wall. Kreacher had also packed up and shipped out, presumably because he was no longer had a master to serve. Molly, Arthur and Remus had shut themselves in the living room to work on a case for the hearing on the Burrow later that week. And to top it all off, Ron and Hermione were at separate ends of the house, avoiding each other at all costs. So it had been a welcome disturbance when Ginny heard Hermione's delighted squeal echo up the stairs. Ginny ran down to the kitchen and found Hermione holding a roll of parchment. Ron was sitting at the table staring at her as if she had gone mad.  
  
"Our O.W.L results are here, Ginny!" Hermione said when she saw Ginny standing at the foot of the stairs. "Oh, I don't know if I can open it! I just know I scored a P in Ancient Runes!"  
  
Ron looked at Ginny and rolled his eyes.  
  
"She mixed up two words, so what! At least she didn't accidentally describe her ugly divination examiner!" he said as he unrolled his parchment.  
  
Hermione, who had given up on getting Ron to answer her about anything, feigned nonchalance. Her interest, however, was so overwhelming that it showed through her disinterested mask.  
  
Ron was fooled by this though, and he ceremoniously held out the parchment before clearing his throat.  
  
"Seven," he said slowly and loudly.  
  
Hermione's mask faded and for a moment, she looked quite proud of what Ron had accomplished. Ron hadn't seen the look, and proceeded to announce his results in further detail.  
  
"An E in Charms, Transfiguration, Defense, Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures. An A in Astronomy and Potions. A P in Divination and a D in History of Magic. Works for me!" He said, casually tossing the roll onto the table.  
  
"Seven out of nine is great, Ron! I hope I do that well," Ginny said.  
  
Hermione was still holding her unopened scroll, and was tapping it nervously against the palm of her other hand. Ron stared at her, awaiting her announcement.  
  
Tap, Tap, Tap, Tap  
  
Ron grunted.  
  
Tap, Tap, Tap, Tap, Ta… The tapping was interrupted by Ron, who had run over to Hermione, grabbed the roll out of her grasp and proceeded to tear open the seal.  
  
"RONALD! GIVE THAT BACK!" Hermione yelled, trying to reach around his back to grab her results.  
  
"Fancy that!" Ron began, holding the parchment up high, out of Hermione's reach. "I would have never thought that mixing up two words would make the difference between a pass and a fail, but I guess I was wrong! And look at this! You failed Astronomy too!"  
  
"I WHAT?" Hermione screamed, jumping up to reach the parchment that Ron was holding.  
  
"Oh, I can't go on! I'm a failure, I might as well die!" Ron said, imitating Hermione.  
  
Hermione glared at him.  
  
"You are too gullible sometimes, Hermione. You got all twelve, you can go back to being a know it all again!" He said with a sneer as he threw the parchment onto the table in front of her.  
  
Hermione looked as if she was going to strike Ron again, but had decided against it. Instead, she snatched the letter off the table and stormed out of the room mumbling something that sounded oddly like, "Insufferable prat."  
  
Ginny couldn't help but agree with Hermione's all too perfect choice of words.  
  
Ron, who had been staring at the doorway Hermione had gone through, snapped back to his senses and picked up an envelope that had been lying on the table, and held it out to Ginny.  
  
"Your Hogwarts letter," he said.  
  
Ginny took the envelope in her hands and slowly turned it over, revealing the Hogwarts seal on the back. She ran a finger under it and the envelope popped open.  
  
"This is it!" she thought. She had been waiting on this letter all summer, not knowing what to expect. She didn't really want the badge, but she was afraid of what not getting it would do to her mother.  
  
She slowly pulled out the letter, ears on alert, listening for a tiny "THUNK" that would be caused by the badge falling deeper into the envelope; none came. She opened the letter only to find the same message she had been receiving for years, a school supply list, and no mention of becoming Prefect. She released the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She was relieved that she didn't have the badge; she never really had wanted it. Fred and George would be ecstatic when they found out; they would feign tears and clap her on the back, congratulating her on becoming just like them. Her mother, on the other hand, would be upset. Molly Weasley had always seen Ginny as a reflection of herself, she hoped that Ginny would go on to accomplish all the things she never had. Ginny sighed; at least Fred and George would be on her side  
  
"So?" Ron asked.  
  
"So what? I didn't get it.," she said as she threw her letter down next to Ron's results.  
  
"Oh, be happy. You don't want to chase after first years all the time, dealing with all their petty problems. Besides, you can follow in Fred and George's footsteps now, just like you've always wanted, you rebel!" he said, elbowing her in the ribs.  
  
Ginny laughed. As quickly as Ron could irritate you, he sure knew how to make you forget he ever had just as quickly.  
  
Ginny walked over to the sink and grabbed a glass that had been sitting in the drain, waiting to be put away, and she filled it with ice cold water from the tap. She leaned against the counter, sipping the water slowly. She decided that she would continue in Fred and George's footsteps. She would smuggle in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and sell them, no matter what the cost. Of course, she wouldn't give up completely on her studies like Fred and George had done. She would ask Hermione to help her study for O.W.L's - surely receiving good scores would help her mother forget that she hadn't been handed the badge.  
  
She heard voices in the hallway and looked up to see her mother, father and Remus entering the kitchen. Remus clapped Ron on the back,  
  
"Seven O.W.L.s I hear! Very nice! You'll do well in your N.E.W.T level classes I'm sure," he said.  
  
Arthur laid a hand on Ron's shoulder.  
  
"I never doubted you!"  
  
Molly clasped her hands, looking at Ron proudly.  
  
"First Prefect, and now seven out of nine O.W.L s. What are you going to accomplish next?" she crooned, but then turned her attention promptly to Ginny.  
  
"Well, let's see it then!" she said.  
  
Ginny froze, and then slowly set the glass down on the counter behind her.  
  
"Mum, I hate to do this to you; I know you have always expected me to carry on the tradition of nearly every Weasley getting the badge…"  
  
"But you didn't get it did you?" Molly asked sadly.  
  
Ginny shook her head.  
  
"Well, that's a shock! What could you possibly have done wrong to keep you from receiving it?"  
  
Molly stood there shaking her head from side to side, looking like she was going to cry.  
  
"I can only think of one thing!" Ginny screamed suddenly. Honestly, why did her mother have to act so distraught, it wasn't as if she had chosen not to receive the badge. "Dumbledore doesn't pick prefects that have been possessed by Voldemort!" Ginny felt like dying. Why did every thing she ever did in life have to boil down to what had happened her first year, when she had been a foolish, naïve and stupid little girl. She felt sobs rising within her throat, and hot tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She covered her face with her hands and ran from the room and up the stairs.  
  
Ginny threw herself on her bed and cried until her eyes had run out of tears and her throat burnt raw from her sobs. She sniffled. This situation usually happened about once a year, maybe twice. Some incident would bring all the events and feelings from her first year crashing back to her like a tidal wave crashing onto shore. The helplessness, the pain, the fear and mostly the shame and embarrassment. Sobs were bubbling in her stomach again and she tried to choke them back down. She buried her face in her pillow and prayed that that whole year had been a dream, that she would wake up and she would have the prefect badge and the respect and trust of all those that surrounded her. But it wasn't a dream, it was reality, a harsh reality that she had to face. She only wondered how she could help Harry deal with his problems when she was currently being pulled under by her own.  
  
Ginny buried her head under her pillow, trying to keep the bright light of the sun from entering her eyes.  
  
"Knock, Knock! Ginny, what are you still doing asleep, we are leaving for Diagon Alley in thirty minutes," Hermione said as she walked into the room.  
  
It had been three days since they had all received their letters, and Ron and Hermione were avoiding each other once again. They weren't the only ones avoiding things however. Ginny had been awoken the morning after her breakdown by a snowy white owl tapping on the window. She had thrown Harry's letter on the desk and hadn't touched it since, enough was on her mind without adding Harry's problems to it. That did sound a bit selfish, but she couldn't help feeling like she should straighten herself out before she communicated any further with Harry.  
  
"I'm up!" Ginny mumbled.  
  
Hermione snickered at the sight of Ginny, sprawled across the bed, head under the pillow. She had one arm hanging off the bed and both feet were sticking off of the edge about six inches.  
  
Ginny lifted one corner of the pillow and peeked out at Hermione, who was standing in her "authoritative pose" as Ron liked to call it: hands on hips and head slightly cocked to the side, with a stern look on her face.  
  
"Do I really have to get up?" she whined.  
  
"Yes, we have so much to do! We have to buy our school supplies, and I have to browse some books. I heard Ron saying he wanted to stop by the twins shop, and we have to buy Harry's supplies for him, he owled us the money, he isn't sure he will be able to stay here at all this summer, the Order is keeping tight restrictions on him," Hermione said as she began to dig through the drawers in the dresser, before throwing a pair of jeans at Ginny. "Now, get up!" she said before walking out of the room.  
  
"You're worse that Mum!" Ginny called after her.  
  
She wriggled into her jeans, threw on the bright pink Weird Sisters t-shirt that Tonks had given her, tied her tennis shoes and ran down the stairs, combing her hands through her tangled hair on the way down.  
  
She arrived downstairs just in time to be ushered out of the door by her mother.  
  
"Ginny, you really must learn to get up earlier. One second later and we would have left you here. And don't even get me started on how you haven't had breakfast!" Molly fussed.  
  
"Mum, I'm not hungry anyway. Don't touch my hair mum, I like it like this!" Ginny said, swatting at her mother's hand which was trying to flatten her hair.  
  
Ron laughed.  
  
"Yeah Mum, haven't you heard, the whole "I just woke up and don't give a damn" look is really in this season," he said.  
  
Hermione glared at him, and he stuck his tongue out at her.  
  
"Why are we going out this way, why didn't we just Floo, Mum?" Ginny asked.  
  
"We don't need to be using all the Floo powder, dear. Besides, we're low on money and we need to save the powder for emergencies only."  
  
Ron snorted.  
  
"Oh yeah, Mum, since there have been so many emergencies around this drab place this summer!"  
  
"Ronald, you never know!" Molly said.  
  
After a short walk, they were sitting on the underground and had soon arrived at their destination.  
  
They walked into the Leaky Cauldron and passed through to the entrance to Diagon Alley.  
  
"Okay," Molly began, "I am going to sit in the Leaky Cauldron and catch up on a few things, I know that you will be fine on your own. Just meet me back here at two so that we can make it home before your father, Remus and I have to leave for the Ministry," she said, shooing them on their way.  
  
The three of the stepped out onto the cobblestones and began to make their way down the alley. Ginny looked around and noticed that it wasn't as busy as it normally was whenever they came, but then again, they were coming about a month before they normally did.  
  
"So, where to?" Ginny asked  
  
The sun shone brilliantly on the cobblestones as the three teenagers strolled idly through Diagon Alley. Hermione checked off the last items on her list before folding it and placing it in one of her bags. Ron strode alongside Ginny, complaining about the fact that he was hungry. As for Ginny, she was exhausted. A day of shopping was hard enough, but having to be a go-between for the two most stubborn people on the planet was the last straw. She desperately wanted a place to sit down and rest, as she was tired of the shopping and the silence in Diagon Alley, but most of all she was tired of the memories that were flooding back to her. Ever since the day she had received her letter, it seemed that everything she came in contact with revived the old feelings within her. Today she entered Flourish and Blotts and promptly halted in the doorway, as this was the place where she had received the diary that changed her life forever. Instead, she had given her list to Hermione and asked her to purchase her books while she sat outside to catch her breath. Things only worsened when Hermione had come out, shopping bags on her arm, flipping through a book of blank pages: she had bought a diary. Hermione said she had bought it so that she could record the happenings of the year, because with the war on things that seemed insignificant at the time they happened might be crucial bits that could help the Order and even Harry out in the long run. Ginny couldn't deny that this was a good idea, but the sight of a diary, especially when she was already shaken, caused her stomach to lurch.  
  
So she was tired, and she damn well had reason to be.  
  
GROWL  
  
The noise stirred her from her thoughts. She looked over at Ron to find him with a hand on his stomach.  
  
He shrugged. "Told you I was hungry!" he said.  
  
"Let's go see if Fred and George are in the store, they might have some sandwiches or something, I'm all out of money," Ginny said.  
  
Hermione and Ron nodded and followed Ginny down the alley. The shop was located on the left, a huge purple and orange sign hung above the door, sporting the name that the three teenagers were all to familiar with. Ginny pushed the door open and was greeted with hysterical laughter. The door closed and the laughter sounded again. Hermione noted that it sounded like the twins had charmed the door to laugh whenever someone entered the store, sort of how Muggles attached bells to the doorknobs of their shops.  
  
Ginny looked around the shop, shelves were stacked high with all of the twins inventions. Her eyes travelled to the front, but she didn't spot either of her twin brothers.  
  
"I bet they feel horrible that they can't help you," Hermione said.  
  
She was right, the twins did feel bad. The fact was, while they were rolling in money, the Burrow still sat empty. They had tried to use their profits to pay off their father's debt , but the Ministry wouldn't allow it. The only person who could pay off the family debt was Arthur, and it had to be his money, nobody else could help. So everyone who had money was forced to stand on the sidelines in the battle for the Burrow. Ginny knew that Fudge must be having a field day, watching her father's struggle.  
  
"Ah Georgie boy! I believe we have some very special visitors!" Fred's voice echoed from the back of the shop.  
  
Ginny looked up and saw two cheery faces peeking around the doorway behind the counter.  
  
"I believe we have visitors, but special is something they aren't!" George said.  
  
The twins started making their way to the three teenagers, walking down a row of Ton Tongue Toffees and Skiving Snackboxes.  
  
"How is my favorite little sister?" George asked, slinging his arm around Ginny's shoulders.  
  
"I'm your only little sister!" she replied.  
  
"But you are our favorite!" Fred added.  
  
George seemed to be fascinated with staring at Ron and Hermione.  
  
"Mum told us about the lovers spat!" Fred whispered loudly.  
  
Hermione glared and Ron stood opening and closing his mouth, unable to come up with anything to say, he settled for crossing his arms and scowling.  
  
"You take them, boys!" Ginny pleaded. "They are driving me absolutely nuts!"  
  
"No way!" the twins said in unison.  
  
GROWL  
  
Hermione stifled a giggle at the sound of Ron's stomach growling for the second time in ten minutes.  
  
"Is ickle Ronniekins a hungry boy?" George asked, as he patted Ron on the stomach.  
  
"Actually, we all are!" Ginny started. "But, we don't have money for food right now, so we were wondering if you had any sandwiches in the back or something."  
  
"Well we do have some food products in the back, but we wouldn't give them to you and risk being yelled at by Miss Prefect here when they turned out to be a little more than what we claimed," Fred said.  
  
"But we can give you some money and you can run on over to that café a couple of stores down. Least we can do, seeing as we have plenty of it and we wouldn't want our siblings and their friends starving to death!" added George.  
  
Ginny hugged Fred and George, each in quick succession.  
  
"You always were my favorite twin brothers!" she said.  
  
"Aw, Fred, she loves us!" George said as he ruffled Ginny's already untidy hair.  
  
Fred had retrieved some coins and he emptied them into Ginny's money pouch.  
  
"Bring us back the change! We aren't that rich!" he said.  
  
"What. Is. This!" Hermione's voice echoed from the doorway, where she was pointing to a sign that had been posted on the window.  
  
"It's part of our recruitment program!" the twins said.  
  
Ginny stepped over to where Hermione was standing to get a better look. The sign read:  
  
Got a great sense of humor?  
Need a few galleons?  
Join our team today!  
Now hiring:  
Willing test subjects for the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes product line.  
  
"Are the people you are hiring of legal age?" Hermione asked.  
  
" Not all of them!" Fred said.  
  
"That's illegal! You can't do that!"  
  
"It's our store, we make the policies and our policies state that anyone old enough to go to Hogwarts can be a test subject! Plus, Hermione, they're willing!"  
  
"Willing or not, if anything goes wrong you know you are going to have tons of parents on your doorstep threatening to take every knut you have!" Hermione screamed.  
  
George grinned.  
  
"Hey Fred," he said, "do you think the house elves parents will care?"  
  
Hermione, who was already fuming, lost it. She threw open the door and whipped her head around to stare at Ginny.  
  
"I've had enough! I'll meet you at the café, Ginny," she said before stalking out into the street.  
  
George let out a low whistle.  
  
"Testy, that one!" he said.  
  
"Guess I'm not invited to have lunch with you two, eh?" Ron asked.  
  
"She just didn't address you because you are so adamant about not speaking to her!" Ginny said.  
  
"Hey, wait a minute, she is doing equally as much not speaking! You cannot pin all this on me!" Ron argued.  
  
"Oh shut it!" Fred yelled. "Go have lunch, we can't have two freaks in here scaring off the customers!"  
  
George gave the two a good shove out the door and into the busy street of Diagon Alley.  
  
Ginny stared across the street, looking for any sign of Hermione, but it was Ron who found her first.  
  
"There she is, " he pointed out, nodding towards the bench that was situated under one of the café's windows.  
  
From across the street everything appeared to be perfectly normal, it simply looked as if Hermione had sat down to wait for her friends to emerge from the joke shop. However, upon closer inspection, it was clear that something had happened in those few moments Ginny and Ron had been bickering.  
  
Hermione was pale and shaking. She was holding a glass of water, which she would take a sip from every few moments.  
  
"Are you alright, Hermione?" Ginny asked.  
  
Ron didn't speak, but his face held a worried expression.  
  
Hermione nodded.  
  
"I am now," she said weakly. "I was walking over here and I started coughing really horribly, so I sat down to try and catch my breath but couldn't! Then a nice lady who saw me coughing brought me some water and I was able to stop." she finished before downing what was left in the glass. She let out a few more coughs before drawing in a breath, "Are you ready to go in?" she asked.  
  
Ron nodded, the worried look had vanished as soon as he had found out that Hermione wasn't in a life threatening situation.  
  
"Yeah, lets go," Ginny said, as she, Hermione and Ron began to head inside, never seeing the long black cloak that swished around the corner of the café, nor the person who was wearing it.  
  
Ginny sighed as the front door of Grimmauld Place closed behind her. She walked downstairs to the kitchen and set her packages down in the corner next the others.  
  
Ron was standing at the sink, pouring himself a glass of water and Hermione was slumped at the table, rubbing her temples.  
  
"I think I'm going to go ahead and get some sleep, I'm exhausted!" she said, rising from her seat.  
  
"Ok, do you want us to wake you up for dinner?" Ginny asked.  
  
"No, I just need to sleep, I've been feeling tired all day."  
  
And with that said, Hermione exited the kitchen and headed up the stairs to her room. Ron was looking worriedly at the place where she had formerly stood. Ginny, noticing this, walked over and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Why don't you just talk to her?" she asked.  
  
"Because," Ron replied, "Every time I do, we find something to argue about again."  
  
Ginny couldn't help but admit that this was true. There had hardly been any kind words exchanged between the two since a few days after Hermione had arrived. Ginny thought this was probably due to the fact that everyone was on edge as of late. The impending war, the loss of Sirius and the Burrow, the fear and anxiety of what was lurking around the corner…all of this was gnawing at everyone's nerves.  
  
"You both have a lot to deal with, I would be worried if you weren't snapping at each other!" Ginny revealed.  
  
"Do you think I want to fight with her, Gin?" Ron said weakly as he sat down at the table. "I just give up on ever having a normal conversation with her. We always end up talking about last year, which leads to us arguing about something or another, because we seem desperate to do anything to get off the topic of what happened at the Ministry. And then there's Harry, who acts like nothing happened, but I know all too well that he's locked himself up in a corner of that house somewhere, and is refusing to face reality. But what can I do? He isn't ready to talk about it, obviously!"  
  
Ginny just stared at her brother as the words poured from his mouth. How had the simple suggestion that he talk to Hermione again brought on this confession of what he was feeling?  
  
Ron sighed heavily and put his head on the table.  
  
"When did everything get so difficult?" he asked. It was more of a statement than a question. It was at this moment that Ginny realized her big brother wasn't a child any longer, and neither was she if she had to admit it. They had all been through a life changing experience at the end of the school year, an experience that had left none of their emotions unscathed. In those few hours at the Ministry, the six children who had entered had been forced to become adults. Ginny reflected that maybe it was only five of them that had entered as children. Harry, after all, had never been a child in Ginny's eyes. He had always had to deal with what was thrown at him like that of a full grown wizard.  
  
Ginny shook her head to clear it. Now was not the time to be thinking about what they had faced, or what was to come for that matter. Now was the time that they should be enjoying the time away from books and teachers like every other teenage wizard and witch that attended Hogwarts.  
  
"Come on , Ron. Let's go see Mum, Dad and Remus off, and then we can play some chess,"  
  
Ron looked up, spirit seemingly lifted at the thought of winning a few games of his best sport, and nodded.  
  
The two left the kitchen together along with all the troubles they were currently facing. They would come pick those up later, but for now, they wanted to be children again.  
  
Hours, a few sandwiches and four games of chess later, Ron and Ginny sat in front of the fireplace in the living room setting up for the next (and last if Ginny had anything to do with it) game. They had been laughing for the past hour over embarrassing and memorable events from their childhood.  
  
"That was not funny! You weren't even old enough when it happened to remember that!" Ron argued.  
  
"It is hilarious! And I don't have to remember it, Fred does a good enough job of that!"  
  
"Having your stuffed bear turn into a giant spider while you are still holding it is in no way funny!" Ron said before commanding one of his pawns forward.  
  
"Oh, Ronniekins! If only you knew how funny it really is!" Ginny said, as she watched Ron's pawn smash her knight. "Dammit!"  
  
"That was a stupid move you know!" Ron laughed.  
  
They both fell into silence and were contemplating their next move when they heard someone enter the room. Both heads turned to the door where Hermione was standing.  
  
She was pale, and seemed disoriented. Her hand had a firm hold on the doorframe, and she was breathing heavily.  
  
Ron's hand dropped onto the board when he saw her, knocking the pieces over. Ginny's eyes widened, and she gasped. Hermione looked absolutely horrible, almost like one that was only inches away from death.  
  
She stumbled forward a little, hand still on the door for support, and took one large gulp of air before speaking.  
  
"I don't feel very well." she said weakly, before promptly losing consciousness and crumpling to the floor.  
  
"Hermione!" Ginny shrieked, as she jumped out of her chair to run to her friends side. Ron, who had arrived before her, had both hands on Hermione's shoulders and was gently shaking her.  
  
"Hermione? Hermione? Wake up!" he said firmly. "Please, Hermione!"  
  
Ginny stood behind her kneeling brother and stared down at Hermione, who looked as if she would stop breathing at any minute.  
  
Ron's head turned and he looked up at Ginny, and she saw the worry written in his blue eyes.  
  
"Floo," he started in a shaky voice, "Floo Remus!"  
  
Ginny didn't need to be told twice, she bolted to the fireplace, which luckily had a fire going, grabbed the small jar of Floo powder off the mantle and peered inside. There was just enough powder to contact Remus. She couldn't help but think of the predicament that they would be in if they had Flooed earlier that day.  
  
"There's just enough," she said, turning to Ron, who was walking towards the sofa with Hermione in his arms.  
  
A tear slid out of the corner of Ginny's eye and down her cheek before she turned back to the grate and threw the powder in.  
  
"Ministry of Magic, main grate," she screamed into the flames.  
  
A stern looking woman's face appeared.  
  
"What may I do for you, Miss?"  
  
"I need you to find Remus Lupin for me, as quickly as possible, it is an emergency!" Ginny said hurriedly, casting miserable glances over her shoulder, towards the sofa on which Hermione was now laying.  
  
The woman ,who was apparently looking at a list of some sort, looked back up at Ginny.  
  
"We have to put you into the holding area until we can receive clearance from the high security office, then we can transfer you to where Mr. Lupin is being held," she said nonchalantly.  
  
Ron, who had been listening from his spot on the floor by the sofa, came and pushed Ginny out of the way.  
  
"No!" He screamed loudly. "We DO NOT have time to be put into any holding area! This is an EMERGENCY, there is a girl who needs medical attention right now!"  
  
But Ron's words were wasted. The woman had apparently transferred them to the holding area without hearing anything they might have had to say.  
  
"DAMMIT! WE DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" Ron screamed into the flames.  
  
Ginny placed a shaking hand on Ron's shoulder.  
  
"Ron, calm down, we are not going to be able to help Hermione by screaming! I only hope they will get us transferred fast. Did they say that Remus was being held somewhere? Held?"  
  
"Yeah, you know how the Ministry is about Werewolves, they probably didn't let him past security." Ron said, as he began pacing in front of the fire place.  
  
A small sigh issued from the sofa and Ron ran over to Hermione, knocking over a chair on his way.  
  
"Hermione?" he asked quietly.  
  
She had woken up, and was staring at Ron with glazed eyes.  
  
"Wha…What happened?" she whispered.  
  
"You passed out, Hermione, you were standing there and then, just like that, you were on the floor," Ron answered.  
  
"Oh," Hermione said, before passing out again.  
  
"Dammit, Hermione, don't do this again!" Ron yelled, as he began to try to shake her into consciousness. "Ginny, how much longer!"  
  
"How am I supposed to know, Ron! It's already taken longer than I expected!" Ginny screamed. She had lost what little patience she thought she had.  
  
Ginny's fit, however, was interrupted by a voice from the fireplace.  
  
"Ginny! Ron! What's going on, they told me it was an emergency!" Remus asked frantically.  
  
Ginny scrambled back towards the flames, and looked at Remus. He looked like he had been through one ordeal already. "Well" she thought "I'm about to add another to that list!"  
  
"It's Hermione, she passed out, and looks really pale… it's scary Remus! She woke up, but then she passed out again! We need to get her help fast!" she said with all the calm she could muster.  
  
"Gin," Ron's voice wafted across the tiny room, in a tone Ginny had never heard him use before, "Gin, I don't think she's breathing! She's turning blue!"  
  
Ginny's eyes whipped back to the flames. Remus was looking more frantic than before.  
  
"I'll get help! We'll be there as soon as we can," he said to Ginny.  
  
"Ron," Remus called. Ron turned his frightened gaze to Remus, "Don't let her die on us!"  
  
Ron swallowed hard and nodded, and Remus' face disappeared.  
  
"HERMIONE!" Ron bellowed, shaking her hard. "Wake up, just for a second, Hermione! Just wake up and breathe!"  
  
He started tapping her gently on the cheek with the palm of his hand.  
  
"Hermione! Please wake up! Please!" he screamed.  
  
Ginny was frozen to her spot, a sick feeling dropped into the pit of her stomach as she watched Ron's desperate attempts to wake Hermione. What had caused this? Why was Hermione laying on the sofa in the middle of the room inches from death?  
  
Loud, wracking coughs shook Ginny from her thoughts.  
  
She saw, with relief, that Hermione had woken up again, and was trying the best she could to breathe in between the coughs that were currently shaking her body. But she was breathing, and that was all that mattered. Her eyes locked with Ron's for a brief moment, and she saw the worry, relief and hope mixed in them. But the moment was cut short when Hermione fell silent and went limp again.  
  
Ginny visibly saw Ron's muscles tense up with worry. He lowered an ear to a few inches above Hermione's lips.  
  
"At least she's breathing this time," he said weakly, as he set a hand gingerly on Hermione's.  
  
Three hours later, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley, Remus, Ginny and Ron sat in the general waiting room of St. Mungos. They had gotten Hermione there just in time, as she had slipped into unconsciousness again, and hadn't been breathing. Two healers had placed Hermione on a stretcher and levitated her towards the examination room. The double doors had slammed in Ron's face, who was being restrained by Remus at the time because he refused to leave Hermione's side. Healers would occasionally come out of the doors, but wouldn't give any information on Hermione's condition, no matter how much Ron pestered them.  
  
So now, they waited. Ron sat in his chair, picking a hole in his already worn jeans. He had been that way for the past half hour, ever since he had been forced to sit down after screaming full volume at a woman that was simply taking some papers to a Healer that was in the examination room. Ginny was about to slap his hand away from his leg when they were interrupted by a Healer that had walked through the doors and had come to stand in front of the group. Ron made a start from his seat, but Molly pushed him back down, and he obeyed… but did not seem happy that he was being forced to stay away from Hermione.  
  
"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," the Healer said, nodding at each respectively.  
  
Ron, unable to be left in the dark any longer, interrupted her.  
  
"What's wrong? Do you know? Is she alright? What happened?" he asked rapidly.  
  
The Healer held up a hand.  
  
"Mr. Weasley, I assure you, everything will be just fine. Miss Granger has been subjected to a very dark potion. There have been so few cases of attack with this potion that it has yet to be named in medical terms."  
  
So, someone had poisoned Hermione. Ginny felt as sick as Ron looked at the thought of it.  
  
"Now," the Healer continued, "this potion, once administered begins a rapid breakdown of the muscular system. After it attacks the muscles to a certain point it's path slows , but it's potency, however, remains the same. After attacking the muscles, it normally moves on to the respiratory system, causing shortness of breath, coughing fits and brief periods where breathing stops altogether. We have made this diagnosis due to the information that we were given about what took place tonight with Miss Granger. The good news is that there is an antidote that will fix her right up and have her out of the hospital in about a week. The bad news is that we cannot actually administer the antidote for two days time.  
  
Ron, who had been doing his best to sit still through the Healer's explanation, jumped up.  
  
"What do you mean two days? You can't do anything for her for two days?" He screamed.  
  
"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY! YOU WILL LOWER YOUR VOICE AND SIT DOWN THIS INSTANT!" Molly demanded, in a voice that rivaled Ron's.  
  
Ron, obeyed, making sure everyone knew how upset he was by throwing himself into his seat and sighing loudly. You would almost think that he was the one that had been poisoned.  
  
The Healer, however, looked unfazed, and continued her speech.  
  
"The antidote has proven ineffective in all cases where it was given before the potion hit the peak of its course though the body, which is normally on the third day after ingestion. All we can do right now is make her as comfortable as possible until the antidote can be given. She will continue to worsen, but she will not reach a point where the potion will be fatal."  
  
"So ,what happens to her while she waits?" Ginny asked, finally finding her voice.  
  
"The potion attacks the muscular system further, causing her to become very weak. We are lucky to find, however, that the potion will stop affecting the respiratory system after the first few hours. From then on the potion basically destroys all her nutrients and protection systems. And after the third day, the administration of the antidote replaces what was lost. It is a particularly nasty potion, and I am not trying to tell you that it will be smooth sailing until the antidote can be given, but I would just like you to know that when you see her she will be very weak. It will therefore be best to allow her to sleep as often as possible," the Healer explained.  
  
"So when can we see her?" Ron asked, trying his best to remain calm.  
  
"She is being transported up to the third floor in the Potion and Plant Poisoning ward, you will be notified of when you can go up and see her," the Healer said, and then turned and disappeared through the double doors.  
  
Ron stood up and kicked the pillar Ginny was leaning against. Remus pushed him back into his seat and began talking to him quietly.  
  
Ginny thought it was sweet that her brother was so concerned about Hermione, but had to admit that he was making a huge arse of himself in the middle of a public hospital. She was tired of standing, so she walked over to a chair that sat by the entrance to the waiting room. She wanted to get as far away from what had happened as she could, which meant getting far away from Ron.  
  
She leaned her head back and shut her eyes, sighing heavily. Her eyes remained closed for a few minutes before her rest was interrupted by a voice from the door.  
  
"What the hell happened!?"  
  
Ginny's eyes flew open, and she turned her head to look at the person that she knew she really did not need to see at that moment.  
  
Harry Potter. 


	5. Chapter 4: Healing Rain

Okay here is the long awaited chapter four! Enjoy! And r/r!

Chapter 4: Healing Rain

There he stood. Harry Potter, savior to the wizarding world and definitely the last person Ginny Weasley wanted to see when everything in her life had turned upside down. Yet, there he stood, staring at her, obviously awaiting an answer to his question. Ginny, not trusting her voice to work at this particular moment, just ducked her head, watching through her eyelashes as Harry rushed by. He went straight to Ron, who began to replay the incident loudly.

Ginny sighed. Any other week of any other year she would have been ecstatic to see Harry Potter standing in the doorway. But not this particular week. She felt stupid, being so concerned with herself, but then again, hadn't Harry Potter been the center of her universe for far to long? However, Ginny had to admit, with those eyes, that messy hair and the whole "I'm a sad boy who has lost everything, not to mention the darkest wizard that ever lived is after me" thing, it was hard for him to _not_ be the center of her world.

Ginny watched Harry sink down into the chair that Ron had vacated when he had taken up pacing again. He was still shaking his head, as though everything Ron had told him had been a dream, or some kind of joke, and that at any second Fred and George would jump out and scream "Gotcha!". Ginny could not tear her eyes away from him. He looked pitiful. He had grown taller since last she'd seen him, and he looked as if food was the last thing on his priority list. Sirius' death must have hit him harder than she thought.

Damn Harry Potter! He always did have to find his way back into the center of things didn't he? Ginny thought she had her own problems, she thought she wouldn't be able to pay a speck of attention to what Harry was going through until she sorted herself out. But there he was, sitting in a chair in the middle of the St. Mungo's waiting room, looking worse for the wear, and unknowingly wriggling his way into her heart again. If it wasn't enough for all of this to be happening, Harry picked the moment to turn his head and meet Ginny's eyes. What Ginny saw in them, even from thirty feet away, was enough to make her want to cry. They were filled with despair, worry, pain and grief. Their emerald depths contained no traces of hope, only admitted defeat. A tear trailed down her cheek and she hastily wiped it away, this was not the time for Harry Potter to see her crying, and crying for him no less. Ginny was immensely relieved when Harry broke his steady gaze and turned it back to the floor.

Ron had sat down again, and had both hands tangled in his ginger hair, his elbows resting on his knees. Ginny didn't know what to make of his off behavior that night. He had a reason to be upset about what happened, but he was acting as if the incident had hurt him just as bad as it was hurting Hermione. Ginny reflected that maybe it had, if what she had been observing between Ron and Hermione for the past two years was real.

The double doors swung open, causing them to look up at a woman wheeling a cart of strange looking vials and tubes down the hall. She saw Ron's shoulders move with his inaudible sigh. The doors opened again, but this time the healer that had talked to them earlier stepped out.

"I wanted to inform all of you that Miss Granger has been moved to the third floor and is now allowed to have visitors. She is located in room 112," the healer said, before continuing on with some business further down the hall.

Ron jumped up and immediately ran for the lifts, closely followed by Mr. And Mrs. Weasley, Remus, and lastly, Harry.

Ginny watched them all head for the lifts, she thought it would be best if she visited Hermione apart from the initial rush, after all, Hermione would have enough to deal with when Ron got there, or so Ginny had inferred from Ron's behavior in the hours they had waited.

So Ginny leaned her head back, hoping to rest a little before they had to Floo back to Grimmauld Place. Rest, however, was not to be part of her agenda that night. Harry, who had observed that Ginny was not joining up with the rest of the team, had ambled over to where Ginny sat.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked dully.

Ginny just opened one eyelid and peered out at him from underneath it.

"No, assuming I was actually alive enough to get up and walk, I would just have to witness more asinine behavior from my brother. I'll wait until he leaves the room before going in," she replied, "It's not like she will know I am not there, what with Ron obstructing her vision."

"He's just worried," Harry said.

"Yes, just worried," Ginny said, winking slowly at Harry, who had just sat down in the chair next to her.

"You don't think he…" He said.

"Oh, yes, I think he does! You can't possibly be so dense as to say you haven't seen it!"

Harry sent a blank look at the carpet.

"I have too much on mind without observing the behavior of my friends," he said plainly.

WHAM!

There it was, Harry Potter had officially thrown himself back into her heart. She almost groaned out loud. She didn't want this! She had worked to long and hard, convincing herself that she was over him, for all the memories to come back now! But oh, how she wanted to wrap her arms around him and tell him that everything was going to be okay, that she would shield him from the heavy blows the world had to offer.

Instead she settled for placing a hand on his arm, in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. His eyes traveled to where her hand rest, and then his emerald orbs met her gaze.

He was hiding, she knew he was. He had learned to mask the pain in his soul when he wanted to. She knew what was there; he had let her see that earlier from across the room.

"I'm sorry," she offered, hoping that it would help him open up if he knew that she cared.

The reaction she received, however, was not what she had expected. He shook her hand off of his arm and stood up, glaring down at her.

"I don't need your pity, Ginny," he said angrily.

"I don't pi …" Ginny started.

"Yes you do! Everyone does! I don't want to hear about it okay!" he yelled at her, earning a few curious glances from some of the rooms occupants.

"Harry, all I wa…" she was cut off again.

"I SAID I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!"

With that said, Harry James Potter, hero of the wizarding world, stormed to the lift and disappeared inside.

Ginny groaned. This was going to be harder than she thought!

The people that occupied the waiting room were still staring at her, no doubt wondering what she had said to make the freaking "Boy Who Lived" so angry. She stared at them before sighing.

"What are you lot looking at!" she screamed, causing everyone to resume the activities they had been engaged in before Harry's little outburst.

Ginny groaned again, and leaned her head back, squeezing her eyes shut.

It had been a very interesting night indeed.

The next day, Ginny found herself in St. Mungos yet again. They had gone home after visiting Hermione, which hadn't been an easy feat, seeing as Ron had refused to leave and had to be run out of the hospital by the staff because visiting hours were over. Molly had playfully hit Ginny in the back of the head when she had suggested that Ron just sleepover in Hermione's hospital bed if he wanted to stay so bad.

She had awoken that morning to Ron shaking her, and telling her to get her "lazy arse" up because they were going to go visit Hermione. Ginny had rolled out of bed and proceeded to take a steaming hot shower, but when she had opened the door to exit, she ran right into Harry, who had acted like nothing had happened, and pushed past her into the vacated bathroom. This caused Ginny to become even more furious than she had been the night before. And an angry Ginny Weasley was not someone to be tangled with.

Now she sat in the third floor waiting room. It wasn't quite time for visiting hours, so they were waiting to be let into the main hallway of the ward. Harry sat on one side of Ron, head tilted back, apparently sleeping. Ron was eating something that he had bought in the gift shop earlier. Ginny had one leg crossed over the other and was picking at the sole of her shoe. She glanced at her watch. Fifteen minutes until visiting hours, she would finally see Hermione.

"Want a chocolate, Gin?" Ron asked, holding out the pink box to her.

"No thanks, Ron, I'm not hungry, and if I was I wouldn't be eating chocolate!"

"It's all they had in there okay!" said Ron, shrugging his shoulders and proceeding to stuff even more chocolate into his already full mouth. Ginny looked away in disgust. Boys were gross when it came to food.

"I wonder if Lockhart is still tucked away in here somewhere?" Ron asked, breaking the silence that had settled around them.

"I would guess he is," murmured Harry, eyes still closed.

"I hope! I wouldn't want that lunatic roaming the streets again!" Ron said before getting up and pretending to be holding a pen and some papers, "Do you want my autograph? I can connect all my letters now! Oh, please let me sign this beautiful picture of ME for you… Do you want my autograph?"

Ginny simply glared at her brother. Frankly, she had had enough of his silly antics, she didn't know why the boy couldn't control himself in public, and the event, that normally would have made her laugh caused her to roll her eyes instead.

"Are you sure you don't want some chocolate Ginny? You look a bit miffed!" Ron said.

Ginny just sighed loudly.

"Attention all St. Mungos guests, the time is now ten o clock, visiting hours have begun and will last until eleven tonight."

The hospital workers voice filled the room. And the doors leading into the ward swung open.

"I hope Mum heard that," Ron said while standing to his feet

"Ron, she's a big girl, she can find her way to Hermione's room I'm sure!" said Ginny.

The three teenagers made their way through the open doors and down a large hallway. It was lit dimly with bluebell flame filled sconces on the walls, giving the hall an eerie feel.

78…80…82…84…

They had already passed by at least fifty rooms before arriving at Hermione's. Ron was the first to go in, and Ginny followed close behind. The room was occupied by two beds, both with white curtains wrapped around them. Ginny paused in the doorway, blinded by all the bright white that surrounded her. Ron made the "white" situation worse by walking over to the window and drawing back the curtains, letting a stream of morning sunlight into the room.

"Which one's hers?" Ginny asked, looking between the two beds.

"This one," Ron said, walking toward the bed on the left side of the room.

"Hermione?" he whispered softly as he approached.

A slight noise came from within the curtains.

Ron slowly opened them to reveal the bed. What Ginny saw shocked her. There lay Hermione, breathing heavily and looking horrible. Her eyes had no light and were lined with black circles.

"Did you get any sleep?" Ron asked, concerned.

Hermione gave him a weak smile.

"Barely," she answered.

Ginny was surprised to see Ron so calm, no silly antics there, just a sincere, caring Ron. Ginny felt bad to interrupt the moment between the two but she walked over to the bed.

"Hey Hermione! Are you feeling any better?"

Hermione barely smiled.

"No," she said weakly, "But isn't that a good sign? The faster I get worse, the sooner I get better."

"You have a few days yet!" Ron replied as he sat at the foot of her bed.

Hermione's eyes quickly scanned the room and came to rest at the door where Harry stood.

"Are you going to come in?" she asked breathily.

Harry walked slowly in, looking as if he was trying to not be noticed.

"That's better," Hermione said, a small smile gracing her lips.

Ron picked up the box of chocolates that he had laid on her bedside table and held them out to her.

"I bought you some chocolates," he said quickly, the trademark Weasley blush creeping into the tips of his ears.

Hermione gingerly took the box out of his hands and untied the pink ribbon. She lifted the lid and stared inside for a moment before letting out a small laugh.

"Ron, I think they sold you a bad box! Almost half the chocolates are gone!" she said smiling.

Ron looked at his feet

"I…I…I…well you see… they wouldn't let us in until ten and…I…I…I got hungry!" he stammered.

Hermione was giggling as she took his hand and pulled him over for a hug.

Ginny had only seen the two of them hug a few times, and the few she had seen had been awkward on Ron's part. He would only half heartedly hug her and then turn red. But the hug that Ginny was now observing was genuine and real. Ron was holding on to Hermione as if he would never be able to hug her again.

"Ron…" Hermione breathed, "Ron…Ron…I…can't…breathe…"

Ron pulled back and looked ashamed.

"Sorry," he said.

Hermione just smiled and popped a chocolate into her mouth.

"MMM, strawberry! Thank you Ron, it was really sweet of you!" she said.

Ron smiled and resumed his position at the foot of the bed. He looked up at Harry.

"You alright mate?" he asked.

Harry didn't say anything, but instead plopped down in a chair near Hermione's bed.

"Harry James Potter! You stop sulking this instant!" Hermione said as loudly and forcefully as she could in her weakened condition. "How many times will I have to tell you, this isn't your fault! It could have happened to anyone, I was just simply at the wrong place at the wrong time!"

"Or friends with the wrong person," Harry mumbled.

Hermione sent him an incredulous look.

"Harry, you are an idiot." She stated plainly.

" Am I? Am I an idiot to care about what happens to everyone? You can't sit around and deny that what happened to Sir…er…YOU is because of me!"

Hermione looked at him pointedly.

"This isn't even about what happened to me is it? It's about what happened to Sir…"

"Don't say it Hermione!" Ron said through clenched teeth as he stood in between her and Harry, "This is not the time nor the place!"

Ginny watched as Hermione sighed and blew a strand of hair out of her eye. She then turned around to find that Harry Potter had yet again stormed out of the room.

"That boy has more mood swings than a pregnant werewolf at the full moon!" Ginny mumbled before exiting the room to look for him. After all someone had to follow the nutcase to make sure he didn't hurt himself!

It had been over an hour since Harry had left Hermione's room. Ginny had searched every inch of the hospital, but it was hopeless. Finding Harry was like finding a piece of leprechaun's gold a day after you had received it. When Harry didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be.

"Excuse me," she said, stopping an orderly as she stepped off the lift on the third floor, "have you seen Harry Potter go by this way?"

The orderly just shook her head and continued pushing her cart down the hall.

Ginny sighed and headed back to Hermione's room. When she walked in, she found Hermione lying in bed sleeping soundly, Ron was sitting in the chair next to the bed looking as if he were about to doze off as well.

Ginny ran over to him.

"Ron, has Harry come back?" she asked.

Ron shook his head.

"Nope, it's just been me and Hermione, who went to sleep about fifteen minutes ago! Not very good company that girl, there I was in a very animated discussion with her about quid ditch and she just starts snoring!"

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"A one way conversation I'm sure! And Ron, you talking about quidditch could put anyone to sleep. I'm going to look for Harry again," she said as she turned to the door.

"Ginny, he'll come back sometime," Ron said, trying to stop her from leaving.

"Ok I'll wait awhile, but if he isn't back in an hour, I am going to look for him again. He doesn't need to be running around alone," said Ginny

The room fell into silence. Ron leaned his head back and closed his eyes. It was then that Ginny noticed that his hand was resting in the edge of Hermione's bed, right next to her pillow. She smiled at the gesture, her brother was growing up.

Ron looked up and noticed her smile.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing really, you just seem relieved and calmed down is all."

"I am, now that we know that everything is going to turn out alright." He said softly.

Ginny continued to smile.

"Why are you smiling at me like that?" Ron asked.

"No reason," Ginny said with a laugh.

Ron rolled his eyes.

"Girls!" he muttered.

Ginny woke with a start when she heard a creaking old cart being pulled into Hermione's room.

She must have fallen asleep while waiting for Harry's return.

The white of the room had turned to navy blue and silver when night had fallen. A healer was tending to someone behind the curtains of the bed opposite Hermione's. Ginny looked down at her watch, visiting hours would be over in an hour. She hastily let her gaze sweep the room. The healer, Ron asleep in the chair next to Hermione who was asleep in the bed, and the doorway. Her eyes stopped at this particular point because there was Harry, standing in the doorway, staring at her.

"You came back," she said, and was disappointed to find her voice was raspy and sleepy sounding.

"Yeah, I came back," he said sullenly, "didn't have much of a choice did I?"

The healer that was attending to the room's other patient turned around and shushed them.

"SHHHH, these patients need rest, take it out in the hall would you!"

Harry stepped out into the hall and Ginny followed close behind.

"Harry, do you want to talk?" she asked, hoping against hope that he would not mistake her offer to listen as pity.

"Not right now, no," he answered.

"Well how about a walk then?"

"Alright," he said.

They began to walk through the blue corridors. Their footsteps not making a sound on the hospital's carpet.

Harry walked slowly with his hands tucked deep into the pockets of his jeans. He was staring at his worn out sneakers as he walked.

Ginny walked beside him, hoping that he was enjoying the monotonous silence that surrounded them, because it was killing her.

She knew that he didn't trust her, and it made her angry. He didn't trust anyone anymore. The only person Harry had ever really trusted was Sirius, and he had been taken away from him. Ginny physically shuddered at the thought of what this war held in store for Harry. How many people would be taken away from him before it was all over. How high was the possibility that Harry could be taken away from THEM. Then what? What would the death of Harry Potter signify for the wizarding world's existence? She had the gut feeling that it wouldn't be good, almost as if Harry were the only one that could bring the wizarding world justice, and if he failed, the consequences would be detrimental.

She continued to ruminate about the endless possibilities the war could bring, but had to halt in her walk when a sharp pain shot through her body.

She stiffened.

The pain was nearly unbearable, it seemed to originate at her heart and shoot forth through all her limbs, before turning in its path and making it's way back to her heart.

She backed up against the wall and slid slowly down, breathing heavily as the pain shook her every muscle.

Harry paused mid-step and turned to look at her.

"Ginny, what's wrong?" he asked as he kneeled beside her.

Ginny was desperate to make the pain stop and managed to bring her hand up to her throat and grasp the leather cord. She yanked it over her head and threw it on the ground.

And the pain stopped.

"GINNY!" Harry said. He had her by the shoulders and was shaking her gently, trying to get a response.

She met his eyes.

"Are you alright? What happened?" he asked.

"No.. nothing… really, I don't know!" she said. "I'm alright now!"

To be honest, Ginny really hadn't a clue as to what was going on. From what she had inferred from the medallion, she was only supposed to sense Remus' pain and emotions whenever he transformed. But a month hadn't gone by since his last transformation… and Ginny was utterly confused.

She carefully picked up the medallion and pocketed it.

Harry reached down a hand and helped her to her feet and they continued their walk.

"Are you sure you don't know what happened back there?" He asked, glancing sideways at her.

"Positive." she answered, "Look Harry, lets just forget about it okay? I mean I was asleep in that chair for hours…it could have been due to that."

"Alright."

They kept walking in silence until they reached a dead end in the hallway. There was a glass door looking out onto what seemed to be an open garden.

Ginny peered out before drawing in a deep breath, it was now or never.

"Harry," she said, "Why did you leave today?" she asked.

He stared at her.

"I would rather we not talk about this!"

"Harry, if you don't talk about it now you never will! All you have done this summer is bottle everything up! You won't let anyone in, Harry. All we are trying to do is help you get over Si…er… what happened. Why won't you trust us? I want to try to understand!" Ginny spat out quickly.

Big mistake.

Ginny didn't know what she had said wrong, but she obviously had. She could see anger building up in Harry's eyes, he was about to lose it… and anyone within a ten-mile radius would hear what he had to say.

She waited with clenched fists and eyes for the outburst, but none came. She looked up at Harry to find that his face was turning a violent shade of purple, and he was breathing in heavy, gruff and forced gasps.

He stood there before her like that for only a few more seconds before turning on his heel and storming through the double glass doors and into the night.

Ginny stared after him, unsure about what to do. On the one hand, she wanted to dismiss the boy forever; he was driving her absolutely mad! Yet, on the other hand, she wanted to go find him and help him in any way she could.

She was a torn woman.

After standing there for a few minutes, she resolved to go after him, completely unsure of what she would say and do when she found him. A gentle pounding began to resound in the hospital and Ginny looked outside to find steady raindrops starting to fall from the sky.

She gently pushed the doors open and stepped outside; she was greeted with the smell of wet earth.

It was almost as if Harry's anger was currently flowing freely from the sky, taking assault on the earth.

She took a few steps further into the garden and she spotted him.

He was standing next to a rosebush, face upturned to the sky, letting the rain cascade freely over his face and shoulders.

She dared to move closer.

"Harry," she whispered, but the wind quickly carried it away.

The anger she had seen on his face had now turned to anguish and she saw his shoulders heave. He lifted his hands to cover his face before finally losing all strength and sinking to his knees. His body was shaking violently at this point.

She stepped up close behind him and her eyes began to fill with tears.

He was letting out long strains of wracking sobs. And this moved Ginny to the very core.

Harry Potter was crying.

She couldn't bear to let him suffer alone and was soon on her knees beside him, rubbing a soothing hand over his back.

He turned and looked at her, tears streaming from his eyes, and then he did something she never expected… he clung to her.

A/N: all the weird stuff will be resolved in chapter five! Sorry for the untied chapter end! Tanks for reading and I would really love to hear your feedback.


	6. Chapter 5: When it rains, it pours

Ginny sucked in a sharp breath when Harry launched himself at her. It took her a moment to register what was happening before she wrapped her arms around him and rested her chin on top of his head. She hoped that he couldn't distinguish her falling tears from the rain. After all, he had obviously turned to her for support, not pity. He wouldn't want her to be crying along with him. She tried unsuccessfully to suck back the tears falling onto his raven head, but she couldn't, and resolved to let them fall. Harry was shaking uncontrollably, and she could feel his tears sliding down her neck. She tried desperately to bite back the sob rising within her throat, but it bubbled forth regardless, and Harry only clung tighter. He had his hands tangled in the folds of her shirt, and was not about to let go anytime soon.

The storm was getting heavier, and the rain was coming in torrents. Even the weather seemed to be grieving with Harry. Ginny was drenched and shivering, but she didn't care. If this was when and where Harry needed her, she wouldn't dare leave his side. Ginny sighed; she hadn't even noticed that her heart had opened up completely for Harry. She knew then that she could never convince herself that she didn't love him, she would always be his, although he may not feel the same.

The storm started to subside as the two teenagers clung to each other in the garden. Harry's sobs had stopped and Ginny could no longer feel his hot tears of despair on her neck. Harry was now just holding onto her for dear life. She decided to break the silence.

"Harry," she started before faltering.

He let go of her and looked at the ground.

Ginny felt a part of herself go when he let go of her. She desperately missed the contact. She berated herself for letting her physical feelings get to her when Harry was obviously in so much pain.

"You know I'm always here for you," she whispered softly.

Harry continued to stare at the ground. She hoped he was at least listening.

"You know, in case you ever do decide to talk about all of this," she said shakily.

He still did not respond.

The rain had stopped, and it was silent.

"I remember what I felt like after the… chamber," she struggled, tears involuntarily rising to the surface at the memories of the shame she had felt.

"I wanted to die," she continued, "after everything I had done. I was so ashamed. People were hurt…"

She cast a glance at Harry.

"You almost died," she choked, " all because of me!"

"I know our situations are different, but they both hurt us in their own way, all of our problems boil down to one person… Voldemort."

Harry turned his head slightly.

"It isn't your fault you did those things!" he said softly.

Ginny nodded.

"Exactly."

She glanced at him.

He was oblivious to the statement he had just made.

Ginny cleared her throat and pressed on.

"Are you going to continue to beat yourself up for something that is out of your control?" she asked gently.

Harry looked back down at the sodden cement.

"If it isn't my fault that Tom possessed me, then how is it your fault that… that all these things happened?"

She paused, expecting a response. When none came she continued.

"You see, Harry, that was something I just had to accept after my incident, some things in the universe are just… out of our hands. As soon as I accepted that, I was able to move on. I mean sometimes I still feel the shame I did after it happened, but I know that it doesn't do to wallow in the past. Life goes on."

Harry sucked in a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair before removing his glasses. He met her gaze, his eyes forceful. Ginny couldn't see the clouded façade she had become so accustomed to, instead his eyes were open, bearing his soul.

"Unfortunately, my whole life is in the past," he stated simply, "It was signed away years ago."

Ginny stared at him in bewilderment. He was speaking as if it were the truth, not an invention of his grief and suffering.

"Why is that?" she asked softly.

Harry breathed deeply, closing his eyes for a moment before continuing on.

" Do you remember the prophecy from the Ministry of Magic?" he asked.

Ginny nodded.

"Yes, I thought Neville smashed it on accident," she said.

"He did, but Dumbledore knows what it said."

Ginny's eyes widened.

"Did he… did he tell you?" she asked.

Harry nodded, looking uncertain as to if he should continue or not.

"Look, Harry, you… you don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to, you don't have to tell anyone, we'll all wait for you," she reassured.

"No, I want to," he said before pausing again.

Ginny decided to wait in silence for him to continue.

"It was made by Professor Trelawney at her interview for Hogwarts. Dumbledore heard it," he said slowly.

He paused again and Ginny waited.

"I can't really remember what it says exactly, but it basically says that in the end, I have to…" he trailed off and swallowed hard.

"To… kill Voldemort…"

He was interrupted by Ginny's sharp gasp.

"Sorry… go on!" she apologized.

Harry took a moment before continuing.

"Or he has to kill me. Neither can live while the other survives… I do remember that much," he said sorrowfully.

Ginny raised her hands to cover her mouth.

"Oh, Harry!"

Her cry was muffled in her hands.

He looked at her again; his eyes vulnerable and lost.

"So it all is my fault. If I had never been born then there wouldn't have been a prophecy," he said, anger rising in his voice again.

"If I had never been born, I wouldn't have had to be surrounded by people who were there to protect me from Voldemort. My mum and dad never would have gone into hiding, and they never would have died," he spat bitterly.

Ginny reached out to him, taking his hand in hers. She hoped he wouldn't shake it off like he had before; she just wanted to help him get through what he was currently telling her.

He looked down, but didn't move his hand away. When he spoke again, his voice had taken on a calmer tone.

"We would have never gone to the Ministry and Sir..." he swallowed, shutting his eyes tightly.

"Sirius wouldn't have died either," he finished sadly.

Ginny squeezed his hand reassuringly.

Harry was staring hard at the ground and his hand was shaking in Ginny's.

Ginny felt a tear slip from the corner of her eye and begin to etch a hot path down her cheek.

Harry's eyes found hers once again.

"Why does it have to be me? Why is the target on my back?" he whispered.

This statement caused even more tears to fall from her eyes. She couldn't control herself in the presence of Harry Potter. Especially when he was looking at her with that lost expression, an expression that said he just wanted to give up, that it would be easier that way.

It broke her heart to see him like that, she knew she loved him and always would. He had so much on his back, how would he ever cope with it all?

'_Because he's Harry Potter… that's how,'_ she told herself.

She couldn't believe everything he had just told her. He was a marked man, to be murdered or to murder.

Ginny was frightened by the new feelings bubbling inside her. She had always known she had liked Harry. Liked had somewhere along the line leaked into love, a silly love, a teenage crush love. But what she was feeling now was unconditional love. She would do anything for the torn boy sitting next to her, even lay down her own life if it would help make his just a little longer, if it would give him the time he needed to defeat Voldemort she would do it. She would go to the ends of the earth and even further for him. She loved him. That she knew, and although the prospect of loving someone like Harry Potter was frightening, she knew that in the end it would be for the best as long as her love could help him in his fight.

Ginny was so overcome with emotion that she reached out and threw her arms around Harry's neck. He stiffened at the contact, but soon he relaxed into her.

"Harry, don't worry about all of this. You're one of the greatest wizards of our age! Probably the best since Dumbledore!" she breathed in his ear. "Everyone around you loves you, Harry. And if we all keep loving you and believing in you, you will be able to conquer Voldemort… I know it!"

Tears were still streaming out of Ginny's eyes, when Harry pulled away and looked at her.

"That would make me a murderer, Ginny. Is that any better than me being murdered?" he asked pathetically.

Ginny thought about that statement for a moment before continuing.

"I don't think you'd be a murderer, Harry,"

He looked at her, confusion written all over his face.

"How would me killing Voldemort not make me a murderer?" he asked.

"Because, Harry, murder… consists of… of… killing something precious. When you kill something you are taking a life away from this world, taking it away from all the people who love it. When you murder you're sending a soul to the other side because of your hate and anger towards that soul," she started philosophically, hoping she was making sense.

Harry still looked confused.

"But, Voldemort doesn't have a soul… at least not in my opinion anyway! He sold out to the devil years ago. Now he's just a shell with poison where his soul should be. He has no soul to send to Hell, it's already there… waiting for the rest of him. All he has left in him is his lust for power. Harry, that quest for power needs to end. Your death would be far worse than Voldemort's, because you were saved out of love. You can feel it in your veins," she said, tracing a blue vein on Harry's wrist with her fingertip.

"It's what drives you, Harry. Love… not power. That's the difference between you and Voldemort. He would kill to have the power to kill more, you would kill to end that power, to end the suffering, and avenge the deaths of those that loved you, those that HE took away because of his lust for power. You shouldn't feel bad about spilling his blood, Harry."

Harry looked at her and nodded. He seemed to want to believe everything she had said.

Ginny had more that she wanted to say, but did not get around to it. Because at the same moment she opened her mouth to speak, Harry flinched, bringing a hand up to his scar briefly, before passing out cold on the pavement.

Ginny shrieked. That was something she hadn't expected.

"Harry," she said tentatively, prodding him in the arm, "Are you alright? What happened? Harry?"

But Harry was unresponsive.

Ginny continued to call out his name for a good quarter of an hour before his eyes fluttered open.

"Harry?" she asked.

He sat up, kneading his forehead with his fingers.

"Harry, what happened?"

He slowly put on his glasses and looked at her clearly through them.

"He's angry," Harry stated simply, "He is VERY angry."

"Did you see anything? Where was he?" Ginny asked quickly.

"He was alone in a forest of some sort, I couldn't really tell where, all I could tell was that he was very angry."

Ginny's eyes widened.

"Well, what about your Occlumency, I thought it was supposed to keep him from getting to you?"

"Like I said, he is VERY angry," Harry repeated

Ginny nodded.

"Come on Harry, I think we better go in now… visiting hours are almost over, we will have to floo back soon," she said, climbing to her feet and reaching out a hand to help Harry up.

Harry took her hand and stood up, brushing off the dirt from his pants. Not that this action did him any good as he was soaking wet and was only smearing the mud all over himself.

The pair walked back through the double glass doors and into the hospital, where a passing orderly wasted no time in reprimanding them for dripping water on the carpet.

They continued walking and were about half way back to Hermione's room when Harry reached out a hand and stopped Ginny.

Ginny looked up at him.

"Ginny, I just want to say… thanks… for listening, and staying with me back there," he said shyly while looking at the floor.

"No problem, you needed that,"

"I'm glad someone knows about the prophecy now," he said, and then seemed to be hit with a sudden realization.

"Ginny, you have to swear that you won't tell anyone about it," he said quickly.

"I swear," she said softly, before giving Harry a quick peck on the cheek.

As soon as she pulled back she could feel her cheeks starting to burn, and knew they were turning Weasley pink. She cursed her heritage.

"I… I…I am sorry about it all…that you have to go through all of this," she stammered.

Harry nodded.

"Thanks," he muttered.

They continued down the hall. Each lost in their own thoughts. Ginny kept sending quick glances at Harry. She wondered what was going through his mind.

Her lips were burning from the kiss she had given him. She silently cursed the Weasley name and the trademark blush that came with it. She could feel the blush creeping back into the apples of her cheeks at the thought of her lips making contact with his cheek. To Harry it had been an innocent, friendly, sisterly kiss. But to Ginny, it was much more than that. She only wished that someday Harry would be able to see an action like that for what it was from her; Ginny, a fierce, independent, courageous and fiery girl. Not Ron Weasley's baby sister that was just along for the ride.

Ginny continued to ruminate about her feelings, staring at the floor to keep Harry from seeing the pink of her cheeks and the desire which she knew would be present in her eyes if he were to look into them.

It wasn't until she heard the distant call of her name that she looked up, only to find her mother scurrying towards them.

"Ginny! Harry! Thank Merlin I found you!" Molly said in relief as she reached the pair.

"Why are you all wet?" she asked rhetorically before continuing on with her thought, "Oh, never mind that, something terrible has happened!"

Ginny gasped.

"What happened to Remus?" she asked slowly.

Molly went from looking worried to stunned.

"How did you know something happened to Remus?" she asked her daughter.

"I just had a feeling is all," Ginny replied.

Molly still looked floored as to how Ginny knew anything about what had happened but was quickly snapped out of it by Harry who inquired as to what really happened.

"Mrs. Weasley, what is it? Is it serious, is he… dead?"

Mrs. Weasley just shook her head.

"Follow me you two, Tonks is in the waiting room, she'll tell you all about it," Molly said, as she scurried off down the hall, leaving the pair with no choice but to follow.

They emerged from the lifts on the main floor and entered the general waiting room.

Tonks was on the far side of the room sitting in a chair Indian style. Ginny noted that she might have a tendency to let her appearance resume it's original style when she was upset. Tonks looked very much like a member of the Black family. Her long hair was jet black and stringy and her face was adorned with high cheekbones and a long nose. Her pale grey eyes were filled with grief and worry.

Molly led the pair over to where Tonks was sitting.

"She knows more about the situation than I do," Molly said, "She was there."

Tonks looked up at the pair and gestured for them to sit.

"I'm going to go, I now have two patients to worry about. This war is going to be the end of me!" Molly said before sweeping off towards the lifts.

Harry immediately piled the questions onto Tonks, who held up a hand to silence him.

Instead of asking what they wanted to know about it all, Tonks closed her eyes and took a deep breath and started the story.

"The Order got a tip today that some Death Eaters were planning on taking over an old safe house from the first war to convert it into a hot spot for Voldemort to meet with his followers. We assume that they could get in because of Peter; he knows the locations and codes of all the old safe houses. I guess he thought that if the Order had been safe there, that Voldemort would too."

Harry clenched his fist, seething. Ginny could tell that he was thinking about the trouble Peter had caused for them all.

"So Dumbledore gave the go ahead for us to go down there and check it out, he hoped we'd get there first. But we didn't, the Dark Mark was over the house when we arrived. It was horrible. I have never seen anything like it, there was blood everywhere!" Tonks said distantly.

Ginny swallowed hard.

"They hadn't used Avada Kedavra, they had slaughtered them the Muggle way. Three of them, or at least all we could find are the parts of what we thought to be three of them, teenagers, about your age Harry," she whispered, looking into his green eyes.

Harry bowed his head, no doubt blaming himself for what had happened. Ginny reached over and placed a tentative hand over his. She hoped that this would not undo all the progress they had made earlier.

"So we went further in, and left Remus out to guard the doorway, we thought for sure if there were Death Eaters, they would be inside. I was scared about what we were going to find in there. But we didn't find any Death Eaters or dead teenagers. We did find one girl in the corner. She wasn't breathing and was turning blue, so we shook her until she started breathing again," Tonks continued.

Harry and Ginny exchanged a worried glance, why did this sound all too familiar?

"We were trying to figure out what do with her when Remus ran in yelling for us to be on alert. Behind him were at least fifteen Death Eaters. There were only five of us there. I was so worried. Kingsley told me to hide the girl so I carried her away, and Remus and Kingsley were heading up the fight with the Death Eaters. So I find a closet in the next room and put the girl in there and when I came back in the main room…. well… it was horrible," Tonks stammered, tearing up.

"What happened?" Ginny asked, she was on the edge of her seat with anticipation.

"When I came back in, one of the guys was laying into Remus with Crucio. No one was helping him because they were trying to ward off about five of them apiece! I ran over and tried to stun the guy, I just wanted a moment to get the curse off of Remus. But this guy was really good at dodging what I was throwing. Kingsley was beating off the ones that were trying to get into the back and the other two, new members, you don't know them, were throwing curses left and right. There weren't enough of us! I was sure we were goners, but all of a sudden the one I was fighting with called out for them all to stop fighting. He said that they had to leave because their Master wasn't happy,"

Ginny sucked in a breath. Tonk's entire story up to that point fell perfectly in line with the night's events. Remus being cursed; Voldemort being upset. Ginny and Harry had both been on the receiving end of these occurrences.

"Go on, " Harry urged.

"Well they turned to leave. But before they did I saw long silver hair coming out of the back of the mask of the one who had been cursing Remus."

Harry closed his eyes and grimaced.

"I matched appearance to voice. It had to be… that voice, I'd know it anywhere. If it wasn't Lucius then I must be insane! So we went and got the girl, who was coughing up a lung, and Remus who was unconscious, and brought them here as fast as we could," she finished lamely.

Ginny and Harry stared at Tonks in silence.

"It must have been really painful for him," Ginny said, recalling the pain she had experienced earlier.

Tonks nodded.

"How is he?" Harry asked.

"He's recovering fine so far. They will have to do some mental tests to make sure everything is still working properly, but he isn't a complete loony like some of the people that have had to endure the curse as much as he did," she explained.

Ginny thought sadly about the Longbottoms who were sleeping a few floors above them, victims of the darkness.

"What about the girl?" Harry's voice roused her from her thoughts.

Tonks looked at them sadly.

"She didn't make it. They think that she may have been under the same potion as Hermione."

"Do they think she was under it long enough for the antidote not to work?" Ginny asked.

"That, or someone out there has made a slight variation of the original with no antidote. We are all hoping that it is the first option," Tonks admitted.

"I hope so too! What if they administer the antidote and it doesn't work?" Ginny asked.

"Well, I guess all we can do is wait for now, and hope that that isn't the case!" Tonks said.

Harry was being unnaturally quiet.

"Should we tell Hermione?" Harry finally asked.

"She has the right to know, someone is going to have to tell her. I don't much fancy seeing Ron's reaction to the news though," Ginny said, "Who do you reckon did this to Hermione, Tonks?"

Tonks looked contemplative for a second.

"I don't think we have much of a way of finding out. Hermione saw the person, so it is safe to assume that they were under polyjuice or something along those lines."

"If they were trying to kill her, why would they give her a potion that had an antidote?" Harry wondered aloud.

"That's what I'm worried about," Tonks said.

"What about the dead ones at the safe house?" Ginny asked, "What happened to them?"

"I don't know," Tonks said, "The Ministry is on it right now, but I don't know how much they can be trusted at this point in time."

Harry and Ginny nodded in agreement.

"I mean, those idiots are definitely hiding something. Lucius Malfoy escapes from Azkaban and the Aurors aren't even put on high alert? Something strange is going on… I don't like it!" Tonks spat.

"Yeah, something is going on up there, anybody with eyes can see that," Harry said bitterly.

The three quickly lapsed into silence. Each absorbed in their own thoughts.

"Madam."

A voice roused them from their reflections.

Ginny looked up to see an orderly bending over Tonks.

"Madam, the man you arrived with is requesting you," she said.

Tonks smiled slightly.

"Sorry guys, I have to go see him… you know make sure everything is alright," she said as she stood.

Harry and Ginny nodded.

"Good luck with Ron!" Tonks called out to them before disappearing into the lifts.

Ginny turned to Harry.

"Well if he can remember Tonks he must be alright,"

"Yeah," Harry said half heartedly, as if not truly convinced.

"We better go see Ron and Hermione. You know what we have to do,"

Harry nodded.

They walked up to Hermione's room in silence, both dreading what they had to tell the two.

Ron and Hermione were having a conversation when they entered.

"Hello you two, where have you been?" Hermione asked at the same time Ron asked, "Why are you wet?"

"We have some bad news, " Ginny said before launching into the story that Tonks had just told them.

When she was finished, Ron was bright red and Hermione was ghastly pale.

"You mean that the antidote may not work?" Hermione whispered.

Ginny nodded.

"THOSE BLOODY BASTARDS! I AM GOING TO KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM I AM!" Ron screeched, finally losing his cool.

He quickly turned on Hermione.

"I'll kill them for you, I swear, they'll pay for this," he vowed.

Hermione blanched even more, and closed her eyes while drawing in one long breath.

"Now what?" she asked.

"Now we wait," said Ginny.


End file.
